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NASA launched the first GOES weather satellite in 1975
The satellite was NASA's first operational GOES craft, built to watch Earth's weather from space; it still does the job your phone app takes credit for.
On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on Best of BBNPublished
Photo: NOAA Photo Library · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBNWatch it as it aired: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on this story, from Best of BBN at 2:20 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Space.com's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by Space.com: “On this day in space! Oct. 16, 1975: NASA launches the 1st-ever GOES weather satellite to watch Earth from space”.
- Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 2:20 AM ET on Best of BBN, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield.
- Topics: Earth.
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
What BBN said about it
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentOn October sixteenth, nineteen seventy-five, NASA launched the first operational GOES weather satellite, which parked high above Earth so forecasters could watch clouds move all day.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentA camera in space, staring at us nonstop since before I existed. Can it see my house?
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Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: United States Senate Photographic Studio · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: PoorLeno ( talk ) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Ckazemi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Dr. Manfred Herrmann Allgemeiner Deutscher… · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: USGS/K. Lynn · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Saturday, October 17, 2026 · the Tech archive · all months
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