GOES 9

GOES 9, known as GOES-J before becoming operational, was an American weather satellite, which formed part of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system. It was launched in 1995, and operated until 2007 when it was retired and boosted to a graveyard orbit. At launch, the satellite had a mass of 2,105 kilograms (4,641 lb), and an expected operational lifespan of three years. It was built by Space Systems/Loral, based on the LS-1300 satellite bus, and was the second of five GOES-I series satellites to be launched.

Launch

GOES-J 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 05:52:02 GMT on 23 May. Following launch, it was positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 90° West for on-orbit testing. Once this was complete, it was moved to 135° West, where it assumed GOES-WEST operations.

Operations