GOES-U Launch Rescheduled to Lift Off After Minor Delay
Exciting news for weather watchers! The launch of GOES-U, the final satellite in NOAA’s GOES-R Series, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, June 25th. This shift allows extra time for engineers to complete repairs and tests on the Falcon Heavy core booster after a minor liquid oxygen leak was discovered in February.
GOES-U will blast off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. This mission is a collaborative effort between several key players:
- NOAA oversees the GOES-R Series program, managing the ground systems, operating the satellites, and delivering the collected data to users around the world.
- NASA‘s Goddard Space Flight Center is responsible for acquiring the spacecraft and its instruments, including the Magnetometer built specifically for GOES-T and GOES-U. Additionally, NASA’s Launch Services Program oversees launch operations for GOES missions.
- Lockheed Martin takes credit for designing, building, and testing the GOES-R series satellites.
- L3Harris Technologies provides the crucial Advanced Baseline Imager instrument, along with the ground systems that include the antenna for receiving data.
With this successful collaboration, GOES-U promises to be a valuable asset in monitoring weather patterns and environmental conditions for years to come. Stay tuned for further updates and the exciting launch on June 25th.
Once GOES-U reaches orbit, and after a successful checkout, it will be renamed GOES-19. Following a successful on-orbit checkout of its instruments and systems, NOAA plans to put GOES-19 into operational service, replacing GOES-16 as GOES East. GOES-19 will work in tandem with GOES-18 (GOES West). GOES-16 will become an on- orbit spare.
Patch graphic by Lukas C. H.