GOES-1

History

GOES-1, designated GOES-A (and SMS-C) before entering service, was the first operational satellite in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite series. NASA developed the spacecraft and launched it on 16 October 1975 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. After reaching geostationary orbit, it was redesignated GOES-1.

The satellite was initially positioned over the Indian Ocean to gather data for the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP). It returned its first image on 25 October 1975, nine days after launch, giving forecasters their first near-real-time look at atmospheric conditions from a fixed location. GOES-1 relayed meteorological data from over 10,000 surface locations into a central processing center for incorporation into weather prediction models.

GOES-1 was replaced by GOES-3 in 1978. After completing its Indian Ocean mission, it was moved to the Pacific Ocean to replace SMS-2. It remained operational in that position until 3 February 1985 and was deactivated by NASA on 7 March 1985.

Specifications

GOES-1 was a spin-stabilized spacecraft built on a Philco-Ford bus developed for the earlier Synchronous Meteorological Satellite (SMS) generation. It was launched on a Delta 2914 rocket and raised itself to geostationary orbit using an onboard SVM-5 apogee motor. The spacecraft had a launch mass of 627 kg and a dry mass of 293 kg, and operated at an altitude of 35,786 km. Due to its spin-stabilized design, GOES-1 was able to observe Earth only about 10% of the time.

Instruments

The primary payload was the Visible-Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer (VISSR), which captured Earth observations in both daylight and nighttime to track clouds and surface temperature. The satellite also carried a Space Environment Monitor (SEM) suite comprising a magnetometer, an energetic particles sensor, a high-energy proton and alpha particles detector, and an X-ray/extreme ultraviolet sensor, along with a Data Collection and Interrogation Service (DCIS) system derived from TIROS satellites.