May 22 1981
From The Space Library
After a series of delays, NASA launched GOES-E, fifth of a series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites funded by NOAA, from the Eastern Space and Missile Center (ESMC) at 6:29 p.m. EDT on a Delta into a transfer orbit with 49,768-kilometer apogee, 192-kilometer perigee, 921-minute period, and 24.1° inclination. The craft would move into synchronous orbit at 85 °W by the first week of June for testing.
The Hughes-built 875-pound satellite, Goes 5 in orbit, carried a new visible infrared radiometric atmospheric sounder (VAS)-modified from the original visible-infrared spin-scan radiometer (VISSR) first carried by Goes 4 in September 1980-to provide not only visual imagery of Earth surface and cloud cover and infrared sea-surface temperature but also temperatures and amount, distribution, and movement of water vapor at various altitudes.
Goes 5 would ultimately replace an older craft at 75°W, now serving as "Goes East" to monitor the eastern United States and Canada, Central America, South America, and much of the Atlantic Ocean. (NASA MOR E-612-81-03 [prelaunch] Apr 28/81, [postlaunch] July 23/85; NASA wkly SSR, GSFC, May 28/81; DISD, May 29/81, 156; Av Wk, June 15/81, 53; Spacewarn SPX-332, June 30/81)
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