The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced that its GOES-19 satellite is officially operational as GOES East.
The agency said Monday GOES-19, the final GOES-R series satellite launched in June 2024, is now the primary geostationary satellite for the Western Hemisphere. It replaces GOES-16, situated 22,236 miles above the equator at 75.2 degrees west longitude.
What Are the Main Functions of GOES-19?
GOES-19 will monitor hurricanes and tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean. It will also track environmental events such as extreme weather conditions, atmospheric rivers, volcanic eruptions and wildfires affecting the contiguous U.S. The satellite will provide data such as high-resolution visible and infrared images, atmospheric measurements and real-time detection of lightning activity to support weather forecasters, emergency managers and first responders. The data gathered by GOES-19 will also help the aviation and shipping industries.
Furthermore, GOES-19 will also observe the sun using advanced instruments, including the compact coronagraph, the first iteration of which has been dubbed CCOR-1. The CCOR-1 is capable of identifying and analyzing coronal mass ejections that can cause geomagnetic storms, auroras and disruptions to technology. Data gathered by the CCOR-1 will be used to determine potential geomagnetic storms, enabling NOAA to issue warnings early.
With the deployment of GOES-19, all GOES-R satellites are now in orbit and operational. As GOES East, the satellite will work with GOES-18, or GOES West, in tracking the weather over half of the planet. GOES-16 will serve as a backup for NOAA’s operational geostationary constellation.
“With GOES-19 now in operation, NOAA has delivered the full fleet of GOES-R satellites to orbit, providing the most sophisticated technology ever flown in space to help forecast weather on Earth,” said Stephen Volz, assistant administrator for NOAA’s satellite and information service.
