GOES 7 explained

GOES-7
Mission Type:Weather satellite
Operator:
Peacesat (1999-2012)
Cospar Id:1987-022A
Satcat:17561
Mission Duration:3-7 years (planned)
25 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 Periapsis:35879km (22,294miles)
Orbit Apoapsis:35898km (22,306miles)
Orbit Eccentricity:0.0002306
Orbit Inclination:15.09°
Orbit Period:24 hours
Orbit Longitude:75° West (1987-1989)
98° West (1989-1992)
112° West (1992-1995)
135° West (1995-1999)
95° West (1999)
175° West (1999-2012)
Orbit Slot:
Apsis:gee

GOES-7, known as GOES-H before becoming operational, is an American satellite. It was originally built as a weather satellite, and formed part of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system. Originally built as a ground spare,[1] GOES-H was launched in 1987 due to delays with the next series of satellites. It was operated by NOAA until 1999, before being leased to Peacesat, who use it as a communications satellite.[2] As of 2009, it was operational over the Pacific Ocean, providing communications for the Pacific Islands. On April 12, 2012, the spacecraft was finally decommissioned and moved to a graveyard orbit.[3]

Launch

GOES-H was launched aboard a McDonnell Douglas Delta 3914 rocket, flying from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.[4] The launch occurred at 23:05 GMT on 26 February 1987.[4] The launch had originally been scheduled for late 1986, but was delayed after GOES-G failed to achieve orbit.[5] It was built by Hughes Space and Communications, based on the HS-371 satellite bus,[6] and was the last of five GOES-D series satellites to be launched.[7]

Operations

Following launch, GOES-7 was positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 75° West,[8] where it underwent on-orbit testing before being activated in the GOES-EAST slot of the constellation.

Due to the loss of GOES-G, and delays in the development of the GOES-I series spacecraft, no reserve satellites were available in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After the imager on the GOES-6 satellite failed in 1989, GOES-7 was left as the only operational GOES satellite.[9] It was moved to 98° West to cover the whole of the continental United States. In 1992, Meteosat 3 was leased from Eumetsat to take over GOES-EAST operations, allowing GOES-8 to be moved 112° West. When GOES-8 entered service in 1995, it replaced Meteosat 3, and GOES-7 was moved to the GOES-WEST position at 135° West. It remained in service until its retirement from service in 1996,[10] at which time it was moved to 95° West. It was then transferred to Peacesat, and positioned at 175° West[11] [12] until its final retirement and disposal in 2012.

It is the only satellite to have been operated as both GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST in the course of normal operations. GOES-10 has been used as both GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST, however its operations as GOES-EAST were as a backup during an outage of GOES-12, and the satellite was not moved to the GOES-EAST orbital position.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: International Satellite Directory - Hughes Aircraft - GOES. 1985-01-12. Flight International. 45.
  2. Web site: GOES-7 Satellite. Peacesat. 2009-06-13. 2009-06-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20090602123939/http://www.peacesat.hawaii.edu/20SERVICES/Technologies/GOES7/index.htm. dead.
  3. Web site: NOAA retires GOES-7 after 25 years as a weather and communications satellite. NOAA News. NOAA. 2012-04-12. 2014-06-02.
  4. Web site: Launch Log. McDowell. Jonathan. Jonathan's Space Page. 2009-06-13.
  5. News: Atlas grounding follows Delta failure. 1986-05-17. Flight International. 44.
  6. Web site: GOES 4, 5, 6, G, 7. Krebs. Gunter. Gunter's Space Page. 2009-06-13.
  7. Web site: GOES. https://web.archive.org/web/20020221162356/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/goes.htm. dead. February 21, 2002. Wade. Mark. Encyclopedia Astronautica. 2009-06-13.
  8. Web site: GOES-7. https://web.archive.org/web/20061004131623/http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/text/history/goes/goes7.html. dead. 2006-10-04. Sharron. Sample. Encyclopedia Astronautica. 2009-06-13.
  9. News: GOES 'Fiasco' causes US crisis. 1991-07-16. Flight International. 21.
  10. Web site: GOES-7. https://web.archive.org/web/20061004131623/http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/text/history/goes/goes7.html. dead. 2006-10-04. ESE 40th Anniversary. NASA. 1999-04-22. 2009-06-23.
  11. Web site: GOES-7 TRANSITIONED TO HAWAII FOR USE BY PEACESAT STATION, NOAA ANNOUNCES. 1999-06-15. NOAA. 2009-06-13. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20161211205605/http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases99/june99/noaa99r309.html. 2016-12-11.
  12. Web site: GOES-07. TSE. 2009-06-13.