NOAA took the GOES-13 out of service Sept. 23 due to technical trouble caused by a motor vibration that caused a lubricant buildup obstructing the spinning motion of the filter wheel in the sounder. The association immediately created the GOES-15 to provide additional coverage of the eastern United States and part of the Atlantic Ocean and also activated the on-orbit spare GOES-14 for full service, moving it toward the GOES-13 position.

Since April 14, 2010, GOES-13 has served as NOAA’s geostationary satellite to provide coverage of the U.S. East Coast. NOAA manages the NASA GOES Program at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center which acquires and manages the design, development and launch of the satellites for NOAA on a cost reimbursable basis. Two GOES spacecraft are operating 22,300 miles above the Equator at all times, with an additional GOES in orbital storage mode if one of the active satellites experiences trouble. NOAA also establishes requirements, provides all funding and distributes environmental satellite data for the United States.