GOES 3

GOES-3
Artist's impression of an SMS-series GOES satellite in orbit
Mission typeWeather satellite
OperatorNOAA
COSPAR ID1978-062A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.10953Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration38 years (achieved)
46 years, 5 months and 11 days
(in orbit)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeSMS
ManufacturerFord Aerospace
Launch mass627 kilograms (1,382 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date16 June 1978, 10:49 (1978-06-16UTC10:49Z) UTC
RocketDelta 2914
Launch siteCape Canaveral LC-17B
ContractorMcDonnell Douglas
End of mission
DisposalDecommissioned
Deactivated29 June 2016 (2016-06-30)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeGeostationary
Longitude135° West (1978-1981)
90° West (1982-1984)
185° West (1985-1987)
129° West (1987-1990)
175° West (1990-1995)
102-110° West (1996—)[1][2]
SlotGOES-WEST (1978-1981)
Eccentricity0.01425[3]
Perigee altitude35,469.10[4] kilometers (22,039.48 mi)
Apogee altitude36,679.20[4] kilometers (22,791.40 mi)
Inclination7.100[3] degrees
Period24 hours

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,[5] and was launched in June 1978.[6] It was positioned in geostationary orbit, from where it was initially used for weather forecasting in the United States. After 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.[7]

GOES-3 was built by Ford Aerospace, and was based on the satellite bus developed for the SMS programme.[8] At launch it had a mass of 627 kilograms (1,382 lb).[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference GSOHist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference EA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b NASA.gov
  4. ^ a b "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Telemetry Details".
  5. ^ "GOES-3". The GOES Program - ESE 40th Anniversary. NASA. Archived from the original on October 4, 2006. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference JSR-LL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Goes-3 Satellite Decommissioned After Linking Antarctica To The World For More Than 20 Years". University of Miami. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  8. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "SMS 1, 2 / GOES-1, 2, 3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved August 13, 2009.