GOES 3

{{Short description|NOAA weather satellite}}

{{Use American English|date=March 2014}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2014}}

{{Infobox spaceflight

| name = GOES-3

| image = GOES 3 artist rendering.jpg

| image_caption = Artist's impression of an SMS-series GOES satellite in orbit

| mission_type = Weather satellite

| operator = NOAA

| website =

| COSPAR_ID = 1978-062A

| SATCAT =

| mission_duration = 38 years (achieved)
{{time interval|June 16, 1978, 10:49:00}}
(in orbit)

| spacecraft_type = SMS

| spacecraft_bus =

| manufacturer = Ford Aerospace

| dry_mass =

| launch_mass = {{convert|627|kg}}

| power =

| launch_date = {{start-date|16 June 1978, 10:49|timezone=yes}} UTC

| launch_rocket = Delta 2914

| launch_site = Cape Canaveral LC-17B

| launch_contractor = McDonnell Douglas

| entered_service =

| disposal_type = Decommissioned

| deactivated = {{end-date|29 June 2016}}

| orbit_epoch =

| orbit_reference = Geocentric

| orbit_regime = Geostationary

| orbit_periapsis = {{convert|35469.10{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=1978-062A|title = NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Telemetry Details}}|km|mi|sp=us}}

| orbit_apoapsis = {{convert|36679.20{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=1978-062A|title = NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Telemetry Details}}|km|mi|sp=us}}

| orbit_eccentricity = 0.01425[https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=1978-062A NASA.gov]

| orbit_inclination = 7.100 degrees

| orbit_period = 24 hours

| orbit_longitude = 135° West (1978-1981)
90° West (1982-1984)
185° West (1985-1987)
129° West (1987-1990)
175° West (1990-1995)
{{nowrap|102-110° West (1996—)}}

| orbit_slot = GOES-WEST (1978-1981)

| apsis = gee

}}

GOES-3, known as GOES-C before becoming operational, was an American geostationary weather and communications satellite. It was originally built for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system,{{cite web |url=http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/text/history/goes/goes3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004131515/http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/text/history/goes/goes3.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 October 2006 |title=GOES-3 |publisher=NASA |work=The GOES Program - ESE 40th Anniversary |access-date=13 August 2009}} and was launched in June 1978. It was positioned in geostationary orbit, from where it was initially used for weather forecasting in the United States. After ceasing to function as a weather satellite in 1989, it was used as a communications satellite, and spent over thirty-eight years in operation. GOES-3 was decommissioned 29 June 2016 at the Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing facility in Miami, Florida.{{cite web |url=http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/news-events/press-releases/2016/goes-3-satellite-decommissioned-after-linking-antarctica-to-the-world-for-m |publisher=University of Miami |title=Goes-3 Satellite Decommissioned After Linking Antarctica To The World For More Than 20 Years |access-date=27 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828061654/http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/news-events/press-releases/2016/goes-3-satellite-decommissioned-after-linking-antarctica-to-the-world-for-m |archive-date=August 28, 2017 |url-status=dead }}

GOES-3 was built by Ford Aerospace, and was based on the satellite bus developed for the SMS programme.{{cite web|url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/goes-a_sms.htm|title=SMS 1, 2 / GOES-1, 2, 3|first=Gunter|last=Krebs|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=13 August 2009}} At launch it had a mass of {{convert|627|kg}}.