NASA and SpaceX launch NOAA’s latest weather satellite

“As communities across the country and around the world feel the effects of extreme weather, satellites like GOES-U are closely monitoring the weather in real time,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA and NOAA have worked together for several decades to bring critical data back to Earth to prepare for severe storms, fire detection and more. This fleet of advanced satellites builds resilience to climate change and protects humanity from weather hazards on Earth and in space.

In addition to its critical role in terrestrial weather forecasting, the GOES satellite constellation helps forecasters predict near-Earth space weather that can interfere with satellite electronics, GPS and radio communications. The GOES-U satellite goes beyond the capabilities of its predecessors with a new space weather instrument, the Compact Coronagraph-1, which blocks the Sun’s bright light so scientists can observe the relatively weaker solar atmosphere.

“There are many applications for GOES data, many of which directly impact our daily lives here on Earth,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “GOES-U will enrich the global data set, allowing NASA and NOAA to track changes in our climate and also provide critical information before extreme weather and natural disasters strike. NASA looks forward to partnering with NOAA again as we move into the next generation of Earth-observing satellites.”

Once GOES-U is in geostationary orbit, approximately 35,000 km above Earth, it will be renamed GOES-19. Following a successful orbital checkout of its instruments and systems, GOES-19 will be commissioned and will monitor weather over most of North America, including the contiguous United States and Mexico, as well as Central America and South America, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean to the west coast of Africa.

“The data provided by GOES-U is essential to ensuring the safety of populations in the Western Hemisphere,” said John Gagosian, director of NASA’s Interagency Satellite Division. “With this successful launch, forecasters will have a resource to better inform and educate the public. »

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, oversaw the acquisition 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 the data to users worldwide. Lockheed Martin designs, builds and tests the GOES-R series satellites. L3Harris Technologies provides the primary instrument payload, advanced core imager, and ground system, which includes the antenna system for data reception.

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