| GOES-4 | |
| Mission Type: | Weather satellite |
| Operator: | NOAA/NASA |
| Cospar Id: | 1980-074A |
| Mission Duration: | 7 years (planned) 8.2 years (achieved) |
| Spacecraft Bus: | HS-371 |
| Manufacturer: | Hughes |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Delta 3914 |
| Launch Site: | Cape Canaveral LC-17A |
| Launch Contractor: | McDonnell Douglas |
| Disposal Type: | Decommissioned |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Geostationary |
| Orbit Period: | 24 hours |
| Orbit Longitude: | 98° West (1980-1981) 135° West (1981-1983) 139° West (1983-1984) 10° West (1985) 44° West (1985-1988) |
| Orbit Slot: | GOES-WEST (1981-1983) |
| Apsis: | gee |
GOES-4, known as GOES-D before becoming operational, was a geostationary weather satellite which was operated by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system.[1] Launched in 1980, it was used for weather forecasting in the United States, and later in Europe. Following its retirement it became the first satellite to be sent into a graveyard orbit.
GOES-4 was built by Hughes Space and Communications, and was based around the HS-371 satellite bus. At launch it had a mass of,[2] with an expected operational lifespan of around seven years.[3] It was the first HS-371 based GOES satellite.[4]
GOES-D was launched using a Delta 3914 carrier rocket flying from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.[5] The launch occurred at 22:27 GMT on 9 September 1980.[6] The launch successfully placed GOES-D into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, from which it raised itself to geostationary orbit by means of an onboard Star-27 apogee motor. Its insertion into geostationary orbit occurred at 12:00 on 11 September.[7]
Following its insertion into geostationary orbit, GOES-4 was positioned at 98° West. In 1981, it was moved to 135° West, where it remained until 1983 when it was moved to 139° West (1983–1984). In 1985 it was repositioned at 10° West, and later 44° West, where it provided coverage of Europe for EUMETSAT following the failure of the Meteosat-2 spacecraft.[8]
Following the end of its operations over Europe, GOES-4 was retired from service. It became the first spacecraft to be raised out of geosynchronous orbit, into a graveyard orbit for disposal.[9] This was accomplished on 9 November 1988, using remaining propellent in the satellite's station-keeping thrusters.