GOES - 3 ceased to be used for weather operations in 1989 .
It spent over 20 years as a critical part of communications between the U.S. and Amundsen -- Scott South Pole Station before being decommissioned in 2016 .
Although GOES - 3 ceased to be used for weather operations in 1989 , it spent over 20 years as a critical part of communications between the U.S. and Amundsen -- Scott South Pole Station before being decommissioned in 2016 .