Boeing Hands Over GOES-P To NASA for Final Testing

Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems of El Segundo, Calif., transferred control of the third Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-P) to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on March 24 to begin on-orbit verification testing, Boeing announced April 7.

GOES-P, which was renamed GOES-15 after reaching geosynchronous orbit, will serve as an on-orbit spare. Following its March 4 launch fromCape Canaveral, Fla., aboard a Delta 4 rocket procured by Boeing Launch Services, GOES-P executed a series of orbit-raising maneuvers over a two-week period that placed the satellite in its on-orbit test location at 89.5 degrees west.

After approximately five months of testing, the satellite will be moved to its on-orbit storage location at 105 degrees west and officially turned over to NOAA this fall.