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2w ago

GOES-19 Satellite Enters Safehold and Stops Sending Weather Data

Engineers say a suspected satellite or instrument fault has no recovery timeline and full geostationary coverage may take days to weeks to restore.

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The new generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES I through M) provide half-hourly radiometric observations to environmental service agencies that have a need for continuous, dependable, timely, and high-quality observations of the Earth and its environment. The instruments on board the satellites measure Earth emitted and reflection radiation from which atmospheric temperature, winds, moisture and cloud cover can be derived. The GOES system is a basic element of U.S. weather monitoring and forecast operations. NASA and NOAA are in a cooperative program to continue the GOES system with the launch of the GOES I-M satellites. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Overview

  • GOES-19 went into a Safehold late Wednesday and remains offline while NOAA engineers investigate a suspected problem with the satellite or one of its instruments.
  • NOAA has not given an estimated time to recover the satellite and says teams are actively troubleshooting the anomaly before attempting to return the satellite to normal operations.
  • NOAA is shifting to backups now, using GOES-16 and GOES-18 for geostationary coverage and polar JPSS satellites for periodic high-resolution snapshots, but repositioning geostationary assets can take days to weeks.
  • The outage reduces continuous ocean and continental coverage at a sensitive time for forecasting because geostationary data are critical for spotting tropical waves over the Atlantic and tracking wildfire smoke over the U.S. Northeast.
  • Officials say service continuity is the immediate priority and updates will be released as engineers learn more, while forecasters may see a temporary drop in some satellite-derived forecast products until full coverage is restored.