The U.S. Air Force will adopt a geostationary weather-tracking satellite that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration powered down in early 2018 after 10 years on orbit, SpaceNews reported Thursday.
John Leslie, a NOAA spokesman, told SpaceNews in an email the agency will hand over its decommissioned GOES-13 satellite as part of a space-based environmental monitoring agreement signed with the service branch.
The satellite, which previously operated in the GOES-East position, will support the Air Force’s weather forecasting activities from a new geostationary location, according to the report.
NOAA currently operates GOES-16 and -17 as GOES-East and GOES-West satellites, respectively. The deactivated GOES-14 serves as a backup satellite of the agency.
