Boeing has announced that it transferred control of the third Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-P) to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on March 24 to begin on-orbit verification testing.

GOES-P - which was officially renamed GOES-15 after reaching geosynchronous orbit - will serve as an on-orbit spare to the current GOES constellation and support enhanced Earth observation and weather monitoring for more than 50 percent of the planet, including the continental United States.

"GOES-15 is on its way to join the fleet and begin fulfilling NOAA's mission to support advanced weather monitoring and forecasting, which can save lives and prevent millions of dollars in property damage," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems.

"Some of the newest Boeing-built GOES satellites are being deployed now to serve a vital national role. GOES-13, in fact, is in the process of being activated as the operational East Coast satellite in time for this year's hurricane season."

GOES-15 launched on March 4 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on a Delta IV rocket procured by Boeing Launch Services.

Following launch, the GOES-15 satellite performed its orbit-raising sequence over a period of approximately two weeks, executing a series of maneuvers that fired the satellite engine and elevated the spacecraft to its on-orbit test location at 89.5 degrees west longitude.

With health and safety checks completed on the satellite, Boeing is ready to begin verification testing with the NASA space operations team in the NOAA Satellite Operations Control Center in Suitland, Md. Several post-launch milestones will occur during on-orbit testing, including:

+ the launch and orbit-raising data review

+ a contingency operations readiness review

+ testing and verification of the spacecraft's instruments and communications services.

GOES-15 took its first public high-resolution photo of Earth on April 6.

After approximately five months of on-orbit testing, GOES-15 will be moved to its on-orbit storage location at 105 degrees west longitude and officially turned over to NOAA this fall.