The fourth and final member of a next-generation weather satellite constellation is getting ready to launch on board a Falcon Heavy rocket to provide constant coverage of both Earth and space weather. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-U mission is slated for launch Wednesday morning AEST during a two-hour launch window that opens at 7:16am AEST. The satellite will ride atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, which will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It’s the first launch for Falcon Heavy this year and its tenth launch overall. The launch will be broadcast live on NASA’s and the space agency’s . You can also tune in through the feed below.
The GOES system, short for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, is already delivering continuous imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s Western Hemisphere. It’s also mapping lightning activity in real-time and monitoring solar activity and space weather. Data gathered by the satellite constellation have led to more accurate and timely weather forecasts, as well as better understanding of long-term climate conditions.
The first satellite of the series, GOES-R, launched in 2016, followed by GOES-S in 2018, and GOES-T in 2022. GOES-U, the final addition to the constellation, is carrying a new compact coronagraph that will image the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere to detect and characterize coronal mass ejections. The constellation .
