The GOES-N series consists of GOES-13, GOES-14, and GOES-15.
Click here for the GOES-N Series Data Book.
Click here for information about the current status.
The main mission is carried out by the primary instruments, the imager and sounder. The imager is a multichannel instrument that senses radiant energy and reflected solar energy from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. The Sounder provides data to determine the vertical temperature and moisture profile of the atmosphere, surface and cloud top temperatures, and ozone distribution.
Other instruments on board the spacecraft are a Search and Rescue transponder, a data collection and relay system for ground-based data platforms, and a space environment monitor. The latter consists of a magnetometer, an X-ray sensor, a high energy proton and alpha detector, and an energetic particles sensor. All are used for monitoring the near-Earth space environment or solar "weather." GOES-15 also carries a Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI).
The Direct Broadcast services on GOES-N series include the GOES VARiable (GVAR) and the Low-Rate Information Transmission (LRIT).