GOES-16 to become GOES-East in Fall 2017!

It's official! #GOES16 will be moved to the GOES East position when declared operational this fall! Learn more @ https://t.co/th65fcc5MI pic.twitter.com/6kSJtFFAxd

— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) May 25, 2017

GOES-East sits at 22,300 miles above the equator at 75° West. As I write this on May 26, 2017, GOES-13 is GOES-East. When GOES-16 becomes fully operational in November 2017, she will be moved to 75° West where she will become GOES-East. At that time, GOES-13 will be shifted to on-orbit storage with her sister satellite, GOES-14 from the GOES-N through P series, I wrote about GOES-13 to 15 on November 30, 2016. GOES-15 will remain at 137° West as GOES-West.

NOAA announced that GOES-16 will be positioned as GOES-East in November in a May 25th press release , here is an excerpt from this press release summarizing how GOES-16 will improve weather forecasting.

GOES-16 scans the Earth and skies five times faster than NOAA’s current geostationary weather satellites, sending back sharper, more defined images at four times greater resolution as often as every 30 seconds, using three times the spectral channels as the previous model. The higher resolution will allow forecasters to see more details in storm systems, especially during periods of rapid strengthening or weakening. Also, GOES-16 carries the first lightning detector flown in geostationary orbit. Total lightning data (in-cloud and cloud-to-ground) from the lightning mapper will provide critical information to forecasters, allowing them to focus on developing severe storms much earlier. (NOAA Press Release, May 25, 2017, NOAA”S newest geostationary satellite will be positioned as GOES-East this fall, http://www.noaa.gov/media-release/noaa-s-newest-geostationary-satellite-will-be-positioned-as-goes-east-fall)

I will be writing more about GOES-16 in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.