Update: June 25th, 6pm ETSpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launched on Tuesday just before 5:30 p.m. ET.
The original article can be found here:
The fourth and final satellite in a next-generation constellation of weather satellites is preparing to launch aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket to provide 24/7 weather coverage on Earth and in space.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-U mission is scheduled to launch during a two-hour window beginning at 5:16 pm ET on Tuesday. The satellite will blast off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be the Falcon Heavy’s first launch this year and its 10th overall.
The launch was by NASA Website And space agencies YouTube ChannelYou can also tune in via the feed below: The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 4:15pm ET.
The GOES system (Geostationary Environmental Satellites) already provides continuous imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s Western Hemisphere, as well as real-time mapping of lightning activity and monitoring solar activity and space weather. Data collected by the constellation leads to more accurate and timely weather forecasts and a better understanding of long-term climate conditions.
The first satellite in the series, GOES-R, was launched in 2016, followed by GOES-S in 2018 and GOES-T in 2022. The final satellite in the constellation, GOES-U, will carry a new miniature coronagraph that will image the outer layers of the Sun’s atmosphere to detect and characterize coronal mass ejections. The constellation will serve the dual purpose of monitoring weather conditions on Earth and in space.
The satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of 22,236 miles above the equator, moving at the same speed as the Earth rotates. This synchronization allows the satellites to maintain fixed positions over specific geographic areas and provide continuous coverage of those areas over long periods of time.
Falcon Heavy will fly with three new boosters. NASA space flightThe rocket’s two side cores will attempt to land at Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida, specifically at Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2), and will be recycled for future flights; the core stage will not be recovered.
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