Definition
Ground-based receiving and processing equipment used to capture weather data transmitted by GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) spacecraft. The equipment decodes satellite imagery and meteorological data for use in weather forecasting and aviation weather services.
Plain English
The hardware on the ground that picks up and processes weather information sent down from weather satellites parked in fixed positions above the Earth.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists and in technical references involving satellite weather information or weather-data equipment.
Derivation
GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite — 'geostationary' meaning the satellite stays over the same point on Earth as it orbits. 'Terminal equipment' is a general engineering term for the hardware at the receiving end of a transmission. Together: the gear that receives signals from those weather satellites.
Why Pilots Care
Gives pilots access to current satellite weather imagery for flight planning and in-flight decisions.
Intuition Check
Do not read “terminal” here as an airport building. Here it means the equipment at the user end of a satellite weather-data system.
Example Sentence 1
GOEST receives the satellite imagery that feeds many of the weather products pilots rely on during preflight planning.
Example Sentence 2
Technicians verified that the GOEST was receiving the satellite signal correctly.