GOES-G

Artist's impression of an HS-371-derived GOES satellite
Mission type	Weather satellite
Operator	NOAA / NASA
Mission duration	Failed to orbit 7 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Bus	HS-371
Manufacturer	Hughes
Launch mass	660 kilograms (1,460 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	3 May 1986, 22:18 (1986-05-03UTC22:18Z) UTC[1]
Rocket	Delta 3914 D178
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-17A
Contractor	McDonnell Douglas
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Geostationary
Epoch	Planned

GOES-G was a weather satellite to be operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The satellite was designed to sense and monitor meteorological conditions from a geostationary orbit, intended to replace GOES-5 and provide continuous vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and moisture. It was lost due to the launch failure of a Delta 3914 rocket on 3 May 1986.

Launch

GOES-G launch.

Explosion 71 seconds after launch.

Launch occurred on May 3, 1986 at 22:18 GMT,^[2] aboard Delta 178, the first NASA launch following the Challenger disaster. Seventy-one seconds into the flight, the first stage RS-27 engine shut down prematurely due to an electrical fault, and the rocket was destroyed by range safety.^[3][4]