Since 1975, the geostationary weather satellites in NOAA’s GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) program have provided continuous imagery and data on atmospheric conditions. This data has led to better severe storm tracking and forecasting, improved understanding of Earth’s atmosphere, ocean and climate and helped in the search-and-rescue of people in distress.

GOES’ mission is a joint NOAA and NASA project that builds, launches and operates the spacecraft and ground system elements that provide a continuous stream of environmental data for use by forecasters, meteorologists, scientists, engineers and others. The National Weather Service and the Meteorological Services of Canada use the GOES spacecraft and their data for severe storm tracking, monitoring atmospheric conditions and providing warnings to the public. NOAA scientists use the data to understand the role of the Sun and its effects on Earth’s environment and weather systems.

Each GOES satellite is equipped with a variety of instruments that gather and analyze information about the atmosphere. The Imagers on GOES satellites record visible and infrared radiation that is scattered or reflected by clouds, water vapor and the ground surface. The Sounders measure the motion of the atmosphere, including wind speed and direction, cloud top temperatures, vertical temperature and moisture profiles, turbulence, fog, snow and ocean currents. GOES also collects information from free-floating balloons, buoys and remote automatic weather stations located around the world.

The first GOES spacecraft, GOES-1, was launched in 1975 and provided the first direct, real-time look at atmospheric conditions from a fixed orbit. Using the Visible/Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer, GOES-1 provided day and night images of clouds and cloud tops, surface temperatures and winds.

GOES instruments have regular schedules for scanning the Earth. For example, GOES East instruments perform a North America scan, a Northern Hemisphere scan and a full disk scan on a routine basis. The instrument schedules can be adjusted during significant weather events and for scientific research purposes.

A 10-minute full disk scan on GOES can allow NWS Weather Forecast Offices and Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers to monitor hazardous weather conditions more rapidly. For example, when volcanic ash clouds move quickly across the atmosphere, they can be difficult to track with traditional imaging capabilities. The faster temporal cadence of a 10-minute full disk scan can help reduce the risk of aviation accidents caused by these hazards.

In addition, GOES-13 and -14 carry an instrument that detects signals transmitted from 406 MHz emergency beacons carried by aircraft, ocean-going vessels or individuals in distress. These distress signals are detected and relayed to ground stations that are part of the COSPAS-SARSAT international system of search and rescue satellite-aided tracking. This capability helps with the search and rescue of people in distress and can also be used to locate ships in distress. This is an important safety function, especially during periods of frequent shipping traffic through the busy waters surrounding the Netherlands.