The launch of GOES-A, designated GOES 1 upon becoming operational.

GOES imagery. Note fog in California Central Valley, frontal system bisecting Texas, and cloud streets north of cold front in the Gulf of Mexico. There is a large winter storm on the East Coast.

Frontal system clouds extending through 30 degrees of longitude from southwest Texas through Florida to southeast of Cape Hatteras.

Adjusting television camera prior to mounting on satellite.

TIROS-N satellite.

Sector of GOES full disk composite infrared and visible image indicates areas of high convection and potentially violent weather. A tornado occurred at Paris in the lower left corner of the cloud in Texas. In this image, the infra-red sensor is actually measuring the temperature of very cold cloud tops which is a sign of major convective activity and dangerous weather.

Cloud streets in Gulf of Mexico after frontal passage. TIROS X pass 3039/3038.

TIROS VII image showing eddy patterns in clouds downstream of Aleutian Islands. Pass 4236/4236.

Hurricane Claudette striking the Texas Coast.

Typhoon Etau approaching southern Japan.

Hurricane Ignacio off the mouth of the Gulf of California.

Typhoon Imbudo striking Luzon in the Philippine Islands.

Hurricane Isabel in the open Atlantic Ocean.

Typhoon Maemi between the Philippine Islands and Japan.

Super Typhoon Chaba churns away in the western Pacific Ocean while Typhoon Aere passes over Taiwan.

Hurricane Charlie west of the southern tip of Florida. Note the strong squall lines with bow-shaped patterns west of South Carolina.

Hurricane Charlie offshore of southwestern Florida.

Four tropical storms in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Frances approaching the Bahamas Islands.

Hurricane Frances in the Bahamas Islands.

Hurricane Frances over Florida. Hurricane Ivan is lurking in the central Atlantic.

Hurricane Frances over Florida.

Hurricane Frances over Florida.

Hurricane Ivan in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Caribbean Sea.

Hurricane Ivan approaching the Antilles from the western Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Ivan in the southern Caribbean Sea south of Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Ivan in the central Caribbean Sea south of Haiti.

Hurricane Ivan in the vicinity of Jamaica.

Hurricane Ivan south of Cuba.

Hurricane Ivan in the Yucatan Channel.

Hurricane Ivan headed north out of the Yucatan Channel.

Hurricane Ivan less than 24 hours from landfall in the Florida Panhandle.

Hurricane Ivan still retains its eye after passing over the west Florida Panhandle.

Hurricane Ivan moving north over Mississippi and into Tennessee while Hurricane Jeanne plays havoc in the Dominican Republic.

Hurricane Jeanne in the Atlantic east of the Bahamas. Maximum sustained winds are near 90 mph. Hurricane Karl is to the east with winds near 140 mph.

Hurricane Jeanne, Hurricane Karl, and Tropical Storm Lisa are all in view from west to east.

Hurricane Jeanne approaching the Bahama Islands.

Hurricane Jeanne beginning its sweep over the Bahama Islands.

Hurricane Jeanne over the Bahama Islands.

Hurricane Jeanne making landfall on the east central Florida coast.

Ash plume trailing south from an 0700 UTC eruption of Shishaldin Volcano on Unimak Island, Alaska. Photo taken 8 hours after eruption.

Plumes of dust are carried off of Africa into the Atlantic.

Airborne dust carried across the Atlantic from Africa is seen over the Caribbean Sea. This dust originated in the Sahara Desert.

Airborne dust streams off of Africa with a particularly heavy dust plume seen off Mauritania.

First Infrared data from GOES 12 geostationary satellite.

Flooding along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers,

Heavy blue band shows flooding along the Mississippi River.

Large fires burning in Alaska and Canada as shown by infra-red imagery. The red indicates burning areas while blue haze is indicative of smoke.

Heat signatures (red spots) indicate fires in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Blue haze plumes emanating from red areas are smoke.

A composite image of very large ice bergs calving off the Weddell Sea Ice Shelf.