GOES-17

GOES-17 (originally GOES-S) is a NOAA geostationary meteorological satellite, the second of the GOES-R Series, launched on 2018-03-01.^[1][2] It served as the operational GOES West satellite until it was replaced by GOES-18 on 2023-01-04 and is now held in a backup/stand-by role at 89.5 degrees West.^[1][2] GOES-17 carries the same six instrument suite as the other GOES-R Series spacecraft: the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI), Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS), Space Environment In Situ Suite (SEISS), and a magnetometer (MAG).^[3] During its GOES West service period, GOES-17 observed the Americas, Pacific Ocean, and adjacent ocean regions, providing atmospheric motion vectors, optical transient detection for lightning mapping, thermal anomaly detection for wildfire monitoring, and magnetometry for space-weather monitoring.^[4][5][6] Note that GOES-17's ABI experienced a cooling system anomaly after launch that limited some infrared channel availability during certain periods, though the spacecraft was maintained in operational service.^[1] The WMO OSCAR record status lists GOES-17 as stand-by; whether each instrument is actively collecting during the backup role is not detailed in public status pages.^[2]