GOES 8 is the 11th in a series of NASA-developed, NOAA-operated, geosynchronous and operational spacecraft.
The triaxis-stabilized spacecraft carries (1) Imager and Sounder system to provide visible and infrared images of cloud cover, and to determine atmospheric temperature and water vapor content at various levels, (2) a meteorological data collection system to relay processed data from central weather facilities to regional stations equipped with APT and to collect and retransmit data from remotely located earth-based platforms, (3) a space environment monitor (SEM) system to measure proton, electron, and solar X-ray fluxes and magnetic fields, (4) a Search and Rescue (SAR) system to detect and relay distress calls from land and ocean, and (5) a WEFAX system to disseminate weather information to the user community via FAX.
The cylindrically shaped spacecraft measures 190.5 cm in diameter and 230 cm in length, exclusive of a magnetometer that extends an additional 300 cm beyond the cylindrical shell. The imaging telescope is mounted on the equipment shelf and views the earth through a special aperture in the side of the spacecraft. The solar array of 1,057 W supplies two nickel-cadmium batteries of 12 Ampere-hour each. The CCSDS-compliant telemetry is in real-time at 2.0 kbs through S-bands. The eventual parking longitude of the spacecraft will be over 75 deg W. The SEC package (X-rays, H+, e-, monitors, and the Magnetometer) became inoperational on or before April 2003.
Alternate Names
GOES-I
GOES-NEXT
Facts in Brief
Launch Date: 1994-04-13
Launch Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral, United States
Mass: 977.0 kg
Nominal Power: 1057.0 W