NASA successfully launched the fourth and final satellite in a series of sophisticated weather satellites for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) at 5:26 p.m. EDT on Tuesday. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-U) will serve the nation by providing continuous coverage of weather and hazardous environmental conditions across much of the Western Hemisphere.
“As communities across the country and around the world feel the impacts of extreme weather, satellites like GOES-U monitor the weather in real time,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA and NOAA have worked together for several decades to bring critical data to Earth to prepare for severe storms, fire detection, and more. This fleet of sophisticated satellites builds resilience to our changing climate and protects humanity from weather threats on Earth and in space.”
In addition to its important role in terrestrial weather forecasting, the GOES satellite constellation also helps meteorologists predict near-Earth space weather that can affect satellite electronics, GPS, and radio communications. The GOES-U satellite exceeds the capabilities of its predecessors with a new space weather instrument, the Compact Coronograph-1, which blocks bright sunlight so scientists can observe the relatively fainter solar atmosphere.
“There are so many applications for GOES data – many of which have a direct impact on our daily lives here on Earth,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “GOES-U will expand the global data set and allow NASA and NOAA to track changes in our climate and provide critical information before severe weather and natural disasters occur. NASA looks forward to working with NOAA again as we move into the next generation of Earth observing satellites.”
Once GOES-U reaches a geostationary orbit at an altitude of about 35,500 kilometers above Earth, it will be renamed GOES-19. After a successful verification of its instruments and systems, GOES-19 will begin service, monitoring weather over most of North America, including the contiguous United States and Mexico, as well as Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west coast of Africa.
“The data GOES-U will provide is critical to protecting people in the Western Hemisphere,” said John Gagosian, director of NASA’s Joint Agency Satellite Division. “With this successful launch, meteorologists will have a resource to better inform and educate the public.”
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, oversaw the procurement of the GOES-R series spacecraft and instruments and built the magnetometer for GOES-U and its predecessor, GOES-T. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, provided launch management for the mission.
The GOES-R series program is overseen by NOAA through an integrated NOAA-NASA office that manages the ground system, operates the satellites, and distributes data to users worldwide. Lockheed Martin designs, builds, and tests the GOES-R series satellites. L3Harris Technologies provides the main instrument payload, the Advanced Baseline Imager, and the ground system, which includes the antenna system for receiving data.
For more information about GOES, see:
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goes
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Liz Vlock
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov
Peter Jacobs
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
301-286-0535
peter.jacobs@nasa.gov
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov