GOES 5

About This Satellite

GOES-5 supplied the eastern part of the US geostationary weather-imaging system from 75 degrees west before its imager failed on July 30, 1984. Its history is an example of partial spacecraft failure: losing pictures did not mean that every other payload function stopped or that the spacecraft disappeared from orbit.

A missing eastern imager changed the whole observing network

The 1984 US space report describes moving GOES-6 from the western position toward the central United States after the GOES-5 failure. The replacement view was a compromise intended to support both coasts. Repositioning an existing satellite could recover some coverage, but did not recreate the original two-viewpoint arrangement.

Relaying weather products was not the same as taking new pictures

The report explicitly says the imager failure did not stop GOES-5's Data Collection System, Space Environment Monitor or Weather Facsimile broadcast capability. A working WEFAX relay is therefore not evidence of a restored onboard imager. These statements describe the situation in 1984, not present-day service availability.

Mission reference: US space activities report 1984: GOES-5 imager failure and continuing payload functions. Editorial review: 2026-09-15.

Launch and space-weather archive dates answer different questions

NOAA's SEM mission overview lists the GOES-5 launch on May 22, 1981 and an archived SEM interval from January 1983 through February 1987. This catalog retains that launch date rather than the conflicting May 15 entry in the CLASS imagery table. The later SEM data also show why the July 1984 loss of imaging cannot be used as the endpoint for every scientific product.

Reference: NOAA NCEI: GOES-5 launch date and SEM archive coverage.

The later particle record needs instrument-specific caution

NOAA's data notes warn that the GOES-5 electron channel became noisy from 1986 onward, with readings possibly a factor of two high. They also record an artificial offset in the magnetometer HP component from January 2 through March 13, 1986, left uncorrected in the data. These are distinct detector problems; neither justifies applying a blanket correction to every measurement from the satellite.

Reference: NOAA NCEI: GOES-5 electron-channel noise and magnetometer offset.

An image archive documents the lost observing role

NOAA CLASS lists the GOES-5 Earth-facing VAS record from August 5, 1981 through July 30, 1984 at approximately 75 degrees west. That interval describes the imaging product listed there. It should be read alongside, not substituted for, the later SEM archive. The catalog separates these records so an image-data endpoint is not silently turned into a whole-spacecraft retirement date.

Reference: NOAA CLASS: GOES-5 VAS Earth-facing data interval.

Reading this orbital snapshot

Based on TLE epoch: 2026-09-05. Estimated altitude ranges from 35,785 km at perigee to 35,815 km at apogee, a difference of 31 km. The orbital period is about 1436.8 minutes. Eccentricity 0.00036 indicates a nearly circular path. In a two-body approximation, perigee speed is 1.00 times apogee speed. These are mean-element estimates, not instantaneous measurements. Distance per orbit uses an ellipse approximation.

Saved build snapshot. If a valid TLE is retrieved, this explanation and the orbit panel update together. Otherwise this dated snapshot is retained.

Ground track is not sensor coverage

An inclination of 9.22 degrees implies approximate geocentric ground-track limits of 9.2 degrees north and south. This is a prograde orbit, moving in the same general direction as Earth rotation. The plotted line marks the point beneath the object. It does not represent camera coverage, radio reception, or a guaranteed visible pass.

Is it fixed above one longitude?

The snapshot period is 1436.8 minutes. A sidereal day is about 1,436.07 minutes. Height alone does not establish a geostationary orbit: the period must match Earth rotation and the path must be circular and equatorial. This catalog uses a five-minute period tolerance for near-geosynchronous labels; near-geostationary additionally requires inclination at most 1 degree and eccentricity at most 0.01. These are browsing categories, not evidence of station-keeping or a fixed longitude.

Accuracy and missing information

The introductory record describes the build snapshot. The orbital snapshot explanation and orbit panel share any successfully retrieved TLE; check the displayed epoch. Reentered objects retain historical data only. Mission history is not rewritten by TLE updates. TLE/SGP4 positions are predictions and can change after maneuvers or updated observations. The 14-day stale-data cutoff is a display safeguard, not an accuracy guarantee. Local passes are geometric predictions, not a visibility forecast. No verified operator or mission status means unknown, not active. Do not use this catalog for collision avoidance or operational flight decisions.

Catalog sources: CelesTrak SATCAT: NORAD 12472 · GCAT: S12472 (source update 2026 Sep 4 2345:57). Supplementary metadata: SatNOGS DB, retrieved 2026-09-05T12:57:25.375Z. Page assembled 2026-09-15. GCAT phase codes describe trajectory phases, not mission health.

Learn more: TLE data · Perigee and apogee · Ground tracks · JOT (Jewawud Live Orbital Map)

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