GOES 7

About This Satellite

GOES-7 launched on February 26, 1987, with atmospheric sounding, weather-data relay, and space-environment measurements among its roles. It served in both GOES-East and GOES-West assignments during normal operations. These names describe service positions and responsibilities, not two different spacecraft or permanent labels for its longitude.

A weather satellite acquired a second communications role

In 1999, after its Earth-observing instruments had degraded beyond operational use, GOES-7 began providing Pacific-island communications for PEACESAT. NOAA describes remote medical consultations among the programme's applications. Continued communications did not mean the old weather instruments had recovered; a usable relay and a usable imager are different capabilities.

Retirement raised the orbit instead of bringing the satellite down

NOAA records retirement on April 12, 2012, after an orbit-raising burn placed GOES-7 roughly 300 km above its operational geostationary orbit. This was disposal into a higher orbit, not atmospheric reentry. Any retained orbital record must be read as that of a retired spacecraft, not an active weather or PEACESAT service.

Mission reference: NOAA NESDIS: GOES-7 weather operations, PEACESAT service and retirement. Editorial review: 2026-09-14.

The 1991 storm animation has a specific observing interval

NOAA's account of the Halloween storm identifies GOES-7 images collected from 05:00 UTC on October 28 through 23:30 UTC on November 4, 1991. The animation follows an evolving storm over several days; it is not a single simultaneous scene. Keeping those timestamps with the imagery helps distinguish observed cloud evolution from a later narrative about how the cold front, high pressure, and Hurricane Grace contributed to the event.

Reference: NOAA NESDIS: GOES-7 imagery of the 1991 Halloween storm.

Not every particle instrument supplied usable data

NCEI lists GOES-7 space-weather data from March 1987 to August 1996 for its Energetic Particle Sensor, magnetometer, and X-ray Sensors. It separately states that the High Energy Proton and Alpha Detector failed. The availability of some particle measurements therefore does not imply HEPAD coverage. Nor do the X-ray sensors imply solar photographs: NOAA identifies the Solar X-ray Imager as a later instrument introduced on GOES-12.

Reference: NOAA NCEI: GOES-7 available instruments, failed HEPAD and XRS/SXI distinction.

Reading this orbital snapshot

Based on TLE epoch: 2026-08-28. Estimated altitude ranges from 35,880 km at perigee to 35,897 km at apogee, a difference of 17 km. The orbital period is about 1441.3 minutes. Eccentricity 0.00021 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 12.86 degrees implies approximate geocentric ground-track limits of 12.9 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 1441.3 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 17561 · GCAT: S17561 (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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