GOES-3, known as GOES-C before becoming operational, was an American geostationary
weather and
communications satellite. It was originally built for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as part of the
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system,
and was launched in June 1978.
It was positioned in
geostationary orbit
A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...
, from where it was initially used for weather forecasting in the United States. Since ceasing to function as a weather satellite in 1989, it was used as a communications satellite, and spent over thirty-eight years in operation. GOES-3 was decommissioned 29 June 2016 at the
Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing facility in
Miami, Florida.
GOES-3 was built by
Ford Aerospace
Ford Aerospace was the aerospace and defense division of Ford Motor Company. It was based in Dearborn, Michigan and was active from 1956 (originally as Philco and then Philco Ford) through 1990, when it was sold to the Loral Corporation. Major div ...
, and was based on the
satellite bus developed for the
SMS
Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
programme.
At launch it had a mass of .
Launch
GOES-C was launched using a
Delta 2914 carrier rocket flying from
Launch Complex 17B at the
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The launch occurred at 10:49 GMT on 16 June 1978, just two minutes short of a year after the previous satellite,
GOES-2.
Orbit
The launch successfully placed GOES-C into a
geostationary transfer orbit
A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellite, Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous orbit, geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into ...
, from which it raised itself to geostationary orbit using an onboard
SVM-5 apogee motor. Its insertion into geosynchronous orbit occurred at 03:22 on 17 June.
GOES-C underwent on-orbit testing, and was subsequently redesignated GOES-3. It replaced
GOES 1
GOES-1, designated GOES-A and SMS-C prior to entering service, was a weather satellite, developed by the NASA, operated by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was the first Geostationary Operational Enviro ...
in service, and was initially operated at 135° West. In 1981, it was moved to 90° West, arriving in 1982, before departing again in 1984. In 1985 it arrived back at 135° West. In 1987 it was moved to 129° West, where it operated until it became unusable for meteorological studies in 1989.
After ceasing operations as a weather satellite, GOES-3 was reassigned for use as a communications satellite. In 1990, it was relocated to 175° West, and in 1995 it was moved again, and was stationed between 102° and 110° West since 1996. Organisations which used GOES-3 for communications included
Peacesat, who used it to provide communications services to islands in the
Pacific Ocean;
the
University of Hawaii who used it to broadcast educational programmes;
the US
National Science Foundation, who used it for communications with the
Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station
The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is the United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the southernmost point under the jurisdiction (not sovereignty) of the United States. The station is located on the ...
;
and the
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
See also
*
1978 in spaceflight
1978 saw the launch of the Pioneer Venus missions launched by the United States, on 20 May and 8 August. The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe landed four spacecraft on the planet, one of which transmitted data for 67 minutes before being destroyed by a ...
*
TDRS-1
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:GOES-3
1978 in spaceflight
Spacecraft launched in 1978
Spacecraft launched by Delta rockets
Communications satellites in geostationary orbit
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites