If someone or something goes, it changes to another state or condition. For example, when a light bulb or part of an engine is going, it means that it is getting weak and may soon stop working completely. The phrase also can be used to refer to a person’s mental health or emotional state. Someone who is going crazy, for instance, is losing control of their emotions.

Geosynchronous equatorial satellites, such as those in the GOES system, have been a basic element of U.S. weather monitoring and forecasting since the launch of SMS-1 in 1974. The GOES-R series program is a collaborative development and acquisition effort between NOAA and NASA. NASA manages the spacecraft design and integration, while NOAA oversees satellite operations and distribution of GOES data. The program is managed by the co-located NOAA/NASA GOES-R Program and Project Offices at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Maryland.

GOES satellites are in constant vigil over Earth, looking for atmospheric “triggers” that lead to severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, and hurricanes. They also monitor snowfall accumulations, ice melt, and other meteorological phenomena.

In addition to its primary Earth-viewing instrument, the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), GOES-R will feature new instruments such as the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) to provide improved coverage of lightning activity and a geostationary version of the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) Rapid Refresh model to monitor rapidly evolving storms and their precursors. GOES-R will also have the capability to detect and transmit information about solar activity, including the sun’s rotation.

The GOES-R satellites are designed with long-term reliability and maintainability in mind. The satellites will be able to operate for up to ten years after their expected lifespan, even with reduced performance.

When the GOES-R satellites reach their final operational positions, they will be designated as GOES-16 (now GOES-17), GOES-19, and GOES-20. They will be positioned at their operational East and West slots, respectively, with a backup on-orbit satellite GOES-T serving as the on-orbit spare.

The GOES-T satellite, which was delivered to the Astrotech Space Operations spacecraft processing facility in Titusville, Florida on 20 April, will undergo final preparations and will be ready for launch in early 2022 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. GOES-T will be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex-41. The mission is scheduled to take approximately one hour to reach its final position in geostationary orbit.