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TV Announcer: Five... Four...Three...(rocket engines rumble)...Two...One...
Narrator: In 2025, NOAA is celebrating 50 years of its heralded
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite program,
known as GOES.
For five decades, NOAA and NASA have partnered to advance NOAA
satellite observations from geostationary orbit.
GOES are our sentinels in the sky,
keeping constant watch for severe weather and environmental hazards
on Earth and dangerous space weather.
It all began in October 1975 with the launch of GOES-1.
The satellite gave forecasters their first near real-time look
at atmospheric conditions from a fixed location.
Before GOES, we didn’t have accurate information about where
and when hurricanes would come ashore.
NASA 1974 Earth From Above Narrator: These giant storms have arrived
with little warning. And more frequently as deadly surprises.
(Seagulls cawing--caw-caw)
(Satellites beeping to each other transmitting data--Beeeeep! Beeeep! --)
We can’t stop hurricanes from happening.
(Beep!) But now, we can at least be forewarned more quickly,
and accurately.
And hopefully better from the time of its birth.,
predict its course. (Computer rapidly beeping and pinging from satellite transmission)
And sound a life-saving warning. (rapid beeps continue and fade away)
Narrator: The new satellites quickly began providing critical information
about these storms and where they were headed.
By 1980, a new series of GOES was in orbit.
1980s Space and Aeronautics Report Narrator: In space applications,
the GOES-4 weather satellite was checked out and
launched from Kennedy Space Center...
Narrator: They were able to obtain vertical profiles of temperature
and moisture throughout the atmosphere.
The added dimension gave forecasters a more accurate picture
of the intensity and extent of storms.
GOES-7, launched in 1987, added the new capability of
detecting distress signals from emergency beacons.
Since then, GOES have helped to rescue thousands of people.
In 1994, GOES-8 brought significant improvements.
Flexible scanning offered imaging of small-scale areas
and let meteorologists monitor local weather trouble spots,
improving short-term forecasts.
Simultaneous imaging and sounding allowed forecasters
to use multiple measurements of weather phenomena
to increase the accuracy of their forecasts.
By the mid-2000s, the fourth generation GOES further improved the
navigation system to better determine the coordinates of intense storms.
Broadcast announcer: Three...Two...(Rocket engines rumble)...One...
Narrator: Then, in 2016, the current generation of GOES launched.
With this series came new state-of-the-art instruments
like an advanced imager,
and the first lightning mapper flown in geostationary orbit.
The latest GOES brought revolutionary improvements,
providing minute-by-minute information to give early warning that
severe weather is forming, monitor and track the movement of storms,
estimate hurricane intensity, detect turbulence,
and even spot fires before they are reported on the ground.
Space weather monitoring has also been part of the GOES mission
since its inception, and continues on today’s GOES satellites.
A sophisticated suite of instruments monitor the sun and
the space environment to provide data to warn
of approaching space weather that can damage satellites,
disrupt communications and navigation systems,
impact power grids, and harm astronauts in space.
For 50 years, GOES data has been the backbone of short-term forecasts
and warnings of severe weather and environmental hazards
in the Western Hemisphere
and forecasts and warnings of space weather hazards.
As NOAA celebrates the long legacy of the GOES satellites,
we continue to rely on our “eyes in the sky”
to help keep the on billion people who live in and work in
the Americas safe.
NOAA Logo and NASA Meatball
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