page_title: GOES 10
section_title: Launch
hierarchical_section_title: GOES 10 / Launch
caption_attribution_description: The GOES-K weather satellite lifts off from Launch Pad 36B at Cape Canaveral Air Station on an Atlas 1 rocket (AC-79) at 1:49 a.m. EDT April 25. The GOES-K is the third spacecraft to be launched in the new advanced series of geostationary weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The GOES-K is built for NASA and NOAA by Space Systems/LORAL of Palo Alto, Calif. The advanced weather satellite was built and launched for NOAA under technical guidance and project management by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Once it is in geosynchronous orbit at 22,240 miles above the Earth’s equator at 105 degrees West Longitude and undergoes its final checkout, the GOES-K will be designated GOES-10. The primary objective of the GOES-K launch is to provide a full-capability satellite in an on-orbit storage condition to assure NOAA backup continuity in weather coverage of the Earth in case one of the existing two operational GOES satellites now in orbit begins to malfunction
context_page_description: GOES-10, known as GOES-K before becoming operational, was an American weather satellite, which formed part of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system. It was launched in 1997, and after completing operations as part of the main GOES system, it was kept online as a backup spacecraft until December 2009, providing coverage of South America as GOES-SOUTH, and being used to assist with hurricane predictions for North America. It was retired and maneuvered to a graveyard orbit on 1 December 2009.
context_section_description: GOES-K was launched aboard an International Launch Services Atlas I rocket, flying from Launch Complex 36B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch occurred at 05:49 GMT on 25 April. Its launch was the final flight of the Atlas I rocket, which was retired in favour of the modernised Atlas II. At launch, the satellite had a mass of 2,105 kilograms (4,641 lb), and an expected operational lifespan of five years. It was built by Space Systems/Loral, based on the LS-1300 satellite bus, and was the third of five GOES-I series satellites to be launched. Following launch, it was positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 105° West for on-orbit testing.
caption: Launch of GOES-K
exif: {}