GOES-6, known as GOES-F before becoming operational, was a geostationary weather satellite which was operated by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system.[1] Launched in 1983, it was used for weather forecasting in the United States.

GOES-6

Artist's impression of an HS-371 derived GOES satellite
Mission type	Weather satellite
Operator	NOAA / NASA
COSPAR ID	1983-041A
SATCAT no.	14050
Mission duration	7 years (planned) 6 years (VISSR) 9 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Bus	HS-371
Manufacturer	Hughes
Launch mass	660 kilograms (1,460 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	28 April 1983, 22:26 (1983-04-28UTC22:26Z) UTC
Rocket	Delta 3914
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-17A
Contractor	McDonnell Douglas
End of mission
Disposal	Decommissioned
Deactivated	19 May 1992 (1992-05-20)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Geostationary
Longitude	135° West (1983-1984) 97° West (1984) 108° West (1984-1987) 135° West (1987-1992)
Slot	GOES-WEST (1983-1984, 1987-1992)
Semi-major axis	42,151.0 kilometers (26,191.4 mi)
Perigee altitude	35,759.4 kilometers (22,219.9 mi)
Apogee altitude	35,800.9 kilometers (22,245.6 mi)
Inclination	14.7°
Period	1,435.1 minutes

GOES-6 was built by Hughes Space and Communications, and was based on the HS-371 satellite bus. At launch it had a mass of 660 kilograms (1,460 lb),[2] with an expected operational lifespan of around seven years.

Launch

GOES-F was launched using a Delta 3914 carrier rocket[3] flying from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.[4] The launch occurred at 22:26 GMT on 28 April 1983.[5]

Orbit

The launch successfully placed GOES-F into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, from which it raised itself to geostationary orbit by means of an onboard Star 27 apogee motor, with insertion occurring on 9 May 1983.[6]

Following insertion into geosynchronous orbit, GOES-6 was positioned at 135° West. In 1984 it was moved, initially to 97° West, and later to 108° West to cover for the failure of the Visible Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer on GOES-5. After GOES-7 replaced GOES-5 in 1987, GOES-6 was returned to 135° West, where it remained for the rest of its operational life.[4] Its imager had failed on 21 January 1989,[1] leaving GOES-7 as the only operational GOES satellite for over five years, until the launch of GOES-8 in 1994. Following this failure, it remained operational as a relay satellite until it was retired to a graveyard orbit on 19 May 1992.[1][6]

See also

• 1983 in spaceflight

References