NOAA retires satellite used to capture storm images, including Hurricane Katrina

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States is retiring one of the satellites used to capture images of storms from space, after more than a decade in service.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-12 spacecraft was launched in July 2001 with an original operational design life of two years for on-orbit storage and five years of actual operations, the NOAA said.

It lasted beyond that, and has captured images of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast in 2005 and the blizzard in the central U.S. in 2009 and provided coverage for South America beginning in 2010.

“GOES-12 gave the Western Hemisphere many years of reliable data as the operational eastern GOES for accurate forecasts, from small storms to those of historic proportions,” noted Mary Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service.

Built by Space Systems/Loral, GOES-12 became operational April 1, 2003 as the GOES-East satellite, monitoring weather across the U.S. east coast and part of the Atlantic Ocean.

In May 2010, when GOES-12 was no longer able to be maintained to meet the requirements of the National Weather Service, it was shifted to a new position, where it provided coverage of weather conditions affecting South America, including volcanic ash clouds, wildfires, and drought.

When the NOAA decommissions a geostationary satellite like GOES-12, it is boosted further into orbit, the remaining fuel is expended, the battery is disabled and the transmitters are turned off.

This reduces the chances the satellite will collide with other operational spacecraft, according to the NOAA.

NOAA continues to operate GOES-13, which serves as the GOES East satellite for the United States and GOES-15, which is the GOES West satellite.

NOAA also has an orbital backup geostationary satellite, GOES-14, which can be activated if any of the operational satellites experience trouble.

Image: GOES-12 captured this visible image of Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 28, 2005, at 11:45 a.m. (EDT). At that time, the storm was at Category 5 strength and projected to impact New Orleans. (Credit: NOAA)