New Weather Satellite Transmits Data

The nation’s newest weather satellite went into service Wednesday, beaming back pictures of the Earth in time to start looking for tropical storms and hurricanes.

“They gave us a good bird,” said Gary K. Davis, manager of satellite operations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration after receiving formal control of the satellite, GOES-H.

The first picture of Earth began arriving at about noon and the satellite became known as GOES-7, a name change signifying it has become a working part of the weather forecasting system.

With the arrival of that picture, the United States has two working stationary weather satellites for the first time since July, 1984.

To Watch Atlantic

GOES-7 will be stationed over the Eastern United States, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean to detect hurricanes before they come close enough to threaten the nation. That is the same area where its predecessor, GOES-5, had been located before failing in 1984.

Since then, the single remaining fixed-position weather satellite, GOES-6, has been moved back and forth--in a more western location in the winter to watch for storms from the Pacific, then back east in the summer to look for hurricanes.