The spacecraft's primary instrumentation was a highly sensitive gravity gradiometer consisting of three pairs of accelerometers which measured gravitational gradients along three orthogonal axes.

By combining the gravity data with information about sea surface height gathered by other satellite altimeters, scientists were able to track the direction and speed of geostrophic ocean currents.

The satellite's unique arrow shape and fins helped keep GOCE stable as it flew through the thermosphere at a comparatively low altitude of 255 kilometres (158 mi).

Additionally, an ion propulsion system continuously compensated for the variable deceleration due to air drag without the vibration of a conventional chemically powered rocket engine, thus limiting the errors in gravity gradient measurements caused by non-gravitational forces and restoring the path of the craft as closely as possible to a purely inertial trajectory.

[6] Initial results of the GOCE satellite mission were presented at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2010 Fall (Autumn) Meeting by Dr Rory Bingham from Newcastle University, UK.

[14] Detailed analysis of GOCE's thruster and accelerometer data serendipitously revealed that it had detected the infrasound waves generated by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake (whereupon it inadvertently became the first seismograph in orbit).

[23] The recovery was completed in September 2010: as part of the action plan, the temperature of the floor hosting the computers was raised by some 7 °C (13 °F), resulting in restoration of normal communications.

[28] Subsequently, end of mission was formally declared on 21 October when the spacecraft ran out of fuel; deprived of xenon, the ion drive stopped working at 03:16 UTC.

[32] On 10 November, ESA expected re-entry to occur between 18:30 and 24:00 UTC that day, with the most probable impact ground swath largely running over ocean and polar regions.

This instrument consisted of three pairs of capacitive accelerometers arranged in three dimensions that responded to tiny variations in the 'gravitational tug' of the Earth as it traveled along its orbital path.