CONTACT: Patricia Viets, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOAA/NESDIS 1/22/96
Randee Exler, NOAA/NWS
The country's newest weather satellite, GOES 9, has completed a 3130-mile trek through space and is now overlooking the western states, the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, Alaska, and well out into the Pacific Ocean.
"For the first time, the National Weather Service has high resolution digital satellite data over both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, where many of the weather systems affecting the U.S. originate," said Louis Uccellini, director of the Office of Meteorology. "This digital imagery, including cloud movements and atmospheric profiles of temperature and moisture, will improve our capabilities to produce three to five day forecasts."
The second in a series of five advanced U.S. weather satellites, GOES-9, launched on May 23, 1995, was positioned over the Gulf of Mexico for testing. After successfully completing three months of post-launch and science testing in December, the satellite began its journey from 90 degrees west longitude to 135 degrees west, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.
GOES-9 replaces GOES-7, an eight-year-old satellite that has been placed on standby. GOES-8, launched April 13, 1994, is currently positioned at 75 degrees West longitude, overlooking the East Coast of North and South America and well into the Atlantic Ocean.
GOES-8 and GOES-9 are providing dual-satellite coverage of the United States and adjoining oceans and Great Lakes into the next century. Each of the new GOES series satellites has a mission design life of five years. GOES-8 and GOES-9 are in fixed positions over the Earth at an altitude of 22,300 miles watching over the United States, its coastal waters, and the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, breeding grounds for winter storms and hurricanes.
"Without a doubt, the United States has the most advanced geostationary satellite system anywhere in the world," said Gerry Dittberner, NOAA's GOES program manager. "We now have two advanced environmental satellites in operation, overlooking our coasts and simultaneously probing the atmosphere while providing high-quality imagery."
GOES-8 and GOES-9 represent a major element of NOAA's National Weather Service's modernization program. The data gathered by the GOES satellites, combined with data from the new Doppler radars and the automated surface observing system, help forecasters provide better advanced warnings of thunderstorms, flash floods, hurricanes, winter storms and other severe weather -- saving lives, preserving property, and benefiting agriculture, marine, aviation and commercial interests across the country.
GOES-8 and GOES-9 are also equipped with instruments designed to provide real-time measurements of solar activity, the charged particle environment, and the Earth's magnetic field at geosynchronous orbit. In addition, the satellites can relay distress signals from people, aircraft, or ships to search and rescue ground stations of the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system.
NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service in Suitland, Md., operates the GOES series of satellites. The National Weather Service is the primary user of the satellite data. Both agencies are part of NOAA.
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Note to Editors:
http://oldthunder.ssec.wisc.edu/
(Contains images and sounding data.)
http://nrlmry.navy.mil/photos.html
(Contains much imagery and the latest GOES-9 image of the Montery
Bay area.)
A line drawing showing GOES coverage is located at:
http://ns.noaa.gov/NESDIS/GOES_POES.html
The GOES Mission overview is available at:
http://ns.noaa.gov/NESDIS/GOES_overview.html