Goddard's role as a leader in technology and science is as alive today as it was in 1959 when Explorer Vl, under Goddard project management, provided the world with its first image of Earth from space.

Goddard is the lead Center in NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE), which is NASA's long term, coordinated researcheffort to study the Earth as a global environmental system. The Earth Observing System (EOS) is the centerpiece of the Enterprise and is managed by Goddard. EOS features a series of polar orbiting and low inclination satellites for global observations of the land surface, biosphere, solid Earth, atmospheres and oceans. The first EOS satellite, EOS Terra (formerly known as AM1), was launched in December 1999.

The end product of Earth Science Enterprise will be the ability to develop and implement environmental policies based on a better understanding of how our environment works. To develop that understanding, MTPE will rely on the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS). The EOSDIS has been designed to archive, manage and distribute MTPE data worldwide.

Goddard managed the highly successful first servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in December 1993. The mission to correct the vision of the telescope's optical components, was described as the most challenging satellite servicing mission NASA has ever attempted. The 11 day mission included five days of astronaut spacewalks to service the telescope in space. The second HST servicing mission is scheduled for 1997. Goddard is also the home of the Space Telescope Operations Control Center (STOCC). The STOCC is the nerve center for HST where all commands for the telescope originate. From this location, project managers and engineers control the observatory, retrieve data, and maintain an around-the-clock vigil of HST. The health and safety of HST, efficient operation and flight system engineering of the observatory also are the responsibility of Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute, a user facility where the scientific observing program is formulated on behalf of the astronomical community, is likewise managed by Goddard.

Goddard is also responsible for the procurement, development and verification testing of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES). GOES is a geostationary weather satellite system developed and launched by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The latest and most sophisticated satellite, GOES-L (11), was launched in May 2000. GOES provides atmospheric image, temperature and humidity profile, wind velocity data and severe storm coverage of the Earth's western hemisphere. NASA and NOAA are in a cooperative program to continue the GOES system with the launch of new generation GOES spacecraft throughout the decade.