CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is preparing to launch an advanced weather satellite into orbit for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U, or GOES-U, mission aims to enhance the nation’s ability to monitor and forecast weather, ocean, and environmental events in real-time.
As the fourth and final satellite in the GOES series, GOES-U will carry seven instruments that will provide advanced imagery and atmosphere measurements of Earth’s Western Hemisphere, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and advanced monitoring of solar activity and space weather.
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The instruments also include a new compact coronagraph, used to capture images of the outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere to detect and characterize coronal mass ejections.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting a two-hour launch window that opens at 5:16 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25.
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The mission will launch on board a SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA”s Kennedy Space Center.
Following a successful launch and on-orbit checkout, NOAA will redesignate GOES-U as GOES-19. It will then work in tandem with GOES-18 to continually observe Earth from the west coast of Africa to New Zealand, providing data for weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and environmental monitoring.
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The GOES-R series of satellites was designed, built, and tested by Lockheed Martin.
For more information about the GOES-U mission, click here.
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