GOES 16

About This Satellite

GOES-16, launched as GOES-R in November 2016, served as NOAA's GOES-East weather satellite. GOES-19 replaced it on April 7, 2025. The program lists GOES-16 as an on-orbit standby rather than the primary GOES-East spacecraft.

A spacecraft name is not a permanent service assignment

GOES-East is an operational role; GOES-16 is a spacecraft identity. This distinction prevents an old image-reception guide from being mistaken for the present service arrangement.

Tracking a backup is still useful

The map can describe the standby spacecraft without promising a live weather broadcast. For a current product, verify the originating satellite and product timestamp instead of choosing a feed solely because its name once referred to GOES-East.

Mission reference: NOAA/NASA: GOES-R series mission history. Editorial review: 2026-09-07.

The Advanced Baseline Imager changed the view

ABI observes in 16 spectral bands: two visible, four near-infrared, and ten infrared. These channels support different environmental products rather than a single all-purpose colour picture. Infrared information remains useful when reflected sunlight is unavailable. This payload description explains the spacecraft's capabilities, not whether a particular standby instrument is collecting data now.

Reference: NOAA/NASA: Advanced Baseline Imager.

Why a nearly fixed viewpoint matters

The GOES-R program explains that maintaining a view over the same region allows repeated monitoring of atmospheric conditions. A near-geostationary classification in this catalog only describes approximate orbital geometry. It does not establish that GOES-16 still occupies its former service slot, follows a particular scan schedule, or distributes a requested data product.

Reference: NOAA/NASA: GOES-R mission and orbit questions.

Reading this orbital snapshot

Based on TLE epoch: 2026-09-05. Estimated altitude ranges from 35,779 km at perigee to 35,794 km at apogee, a difference of 15 km. The orbital period is about 1436.1 minutes. Eccentricity 0.00018 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 0.53 degrees implies approximate geocentric ground-track limits of 0.5 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 1436.1 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 41866 · GCAT: S41866 (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)

Satellite Details