December |
|
| December 20, 2016: Following the successful launch of GOES-R, renamed GOES-16 upon reaching geostationary orbit, progress continues on development of the GOES-S spacecraft. GOES-S is now fully integrated and undergoing environmental testing. During environmental testing, the satellite is subjected to conditions which simulate launch and the harsh space environment in orbit. This includes vibration testing to simulate the stresses experienced during launch to ensure there are no structural weaknesses, and acoustics testing, which uses high-intensity horns to subject the satellite to extreme high sound pressure that simulates the noises created when the rocket is launched. In addition, GOES-S will go through electromagnetic testing to ensure that the electromagnetic signals produced by satellite components do not interfere with its operation and even further testing that subjects the satellite to extreme thermal temperatures in a vacuum chamber. | |
December 12, 2016: Over the last week, GOES-16 has deployed its magnetometer boom; powered on its ABI, GLM, SUVI, and EXIS instruments; and its ground stations are now receiving space weather data from the spacecraft! The satellite's instruments will continue to progress through their planned testing and calibration phases over the next several weeks. Earth’s geomagnetic field acts as a shield, protecting us from hazardous incoming solar radiation. Geomagnetic storms, caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun, can interfere with communications and navigation systems, cause damage to satellites, cause health risks to astronauts, and threaten power utilities. When a solar flare occurs, GOES-16 will tell space weather forecasters where it happened on the sun and how strong it was. Using that information, forecasters can determine if the explosion of energy is coming toward Earth or not. Once a geomagnetic storm reaches Earth, GOES-16 will measure the invisible magnetic field and particle radiation environment that surrounds the planet. These measurements will tell forecasters exactly what is happening, providing minute by minute updates as the geomagnetic storm progresses. |
|
| December 6, 2016: After a series of maneuvers, conducted using the satellite's hydrazine bi-propellant thrusters (HBTs), GOES-16 has placed itself in its designated 89.5 degree West longitude checkout location where it will undergo an extended checkout and validation phase of approximately one year. Within the next few weeks, GOES-16's magnetometer boom will be deployed and the satellite's other instruments, ABI, GLM, SUVI, EXIS, and SEISS, will be powered on and tested. The GOES-R ground system is also reporting that the system is stable and performing very well. The ground system has successfully supported launch, orbit raising, and spacecraft activation and will now prepare for the first data to begin flowing from the satellite. | |
November |
|
| November 30, 2016: On November 29, 2016, GOES-R executed its final liquid apogee engine burn without anomaly. This has placed the satellite approximately 22,300 miles away with an inclination of 0.0 degrees, meaning it has reached geostationary orbit. GOES-R is now GOES-16! Later today, GOES-16 will perform its second stage solar array deployment, releasing the solar array yoke and solar pointing platform. In the days that follow, the software will be transitioned from the 'orbit raising' mission phase to 'operational,' several maneuvers will be conducted to adjust the satellites precise orbit, and the magnetometer boom will be deployed. Testing and calibration of GOES-16 will then begin. | |
| November 23, 2016: Since launch on Saturday, November 19, GOES-R has transitioned to the ‘orbit raising’ phase of the mission and is making its way to geostationary orbit. The spacecraft is currently positioned in a sun-point attitude, which allows its solar array to harness the sun’s power. The GOES-R team has performed the first liquid apogee engine (LAE) burn without anomaly. This engine burn is part of a series of LAEs that will help position GOES-R in geostationary orbit. The next major milestone will be the second stage deployment of GOES-R’s solar array, which is currently scheduled to occur on November 30, 2016. | |
| November 21, 2016: What’s next for GOES-R? The GOES-R team has confirmed satellite communication and power. Over the next several days, team members will perform a series of maneuvers to bring the satellite into geostationary orbit. This is expected to occur approximately 16 days after launch. Once GOES-R is placed in geostationary orbit, it will undergo an extended checkout and validation phase lasting approximately one year. The satellite will transition to operations immediately afterward. Whether it will serve as GOES East or GOES West has yet to be determined. The final decision will be based on the health and performance of the NOAA GOES constellation. | |
| November 19, 2016: GOES-R successfully separated from the from the Centaur upper stage of the launch vehicle around 10:15 p.m. EST on November 19, 2016, to fly freely for the first time. GOES-R is now in a transfer orbit of 19,000 miles by 4,400 miles. It will circularize that orbit to more than 22,000 miles above Earth to be in a position to watch the western hemisphere with the most advanced instruments of their kind. Watch video of GOES-R spacecraft separation. | |
| November 19, 2016: GOES-R successfully launched at 6:42 p.m. EST on November 19, 2016. The satellite lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket. The first in the series of NOAA’s next-generation geostationary weather satellites, GOES-R will boost the nation’s weather observation network and NOAA’s prediction capabilities, leading to more accurate and timely forecasts, watches and warnings. Watch video of the GOES-R launch. | |
| November 18, 2016: The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and its GOES-R payload were moved to the launch pad today as preparations continue for Saturday’s launch from Space Launch Complex 41. The Atlas V is in its 541 configuration, which means it has the 5-meter-diameter payload fairing, four solid-fueled boosters and the Centaur upper stage is equipped with a single engine. Liftoff remains on schedule for 5:42 p.m. EST tomorrow. | |
| November 17, 2016: Managers from NASA, NOAA, USAF 45th Space Wing and United Launch Alliance gave a unanimous “go” for launch of the GOES-R spacecraft Saturday at 5:42 p.m. EST on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The decision followed the Launch Readiness Review on November 17 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. | |
| November 15, 2016:At the conclusion of the Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 15, senior NASA and contractor managers voted unanimously to proceed with processing toward the targeted launch GOES-R on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 5:42 p.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 19. A final “go” decision will be made at the GOES-R Launch Readiness Review on November 17. | |
| November 15, 2016: “T- 3..2..1..Liftoff!” As we head toward launch, all eyes and ears will be on NOAA’s GOES-R satellite atop its Atlas V 541 rocket. Make sure you are caught up on launch day lingo so that you can follow along! | |
| November 14, 2016: NASA, NOAA and United Launch Alliance controllers and engineers conducted a full Mission Dress Rehearsal November 14 for the launch of the GOES-R spacecraft. The practice is standard for the launch team as it prepares for a mission. Working from consoles in facilities at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the teams ran through the same systems and processes they will use for the actual launch, which is set for November 19 at 5:42 p.m. EST. | |
| November 14, 2016: GOES-R Saves Lives: The Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking System. GOES-R, the nation’s most advanced weather satellite to-date, will not only provide more weather and environmental information than ever before, it will also provide a helping hand to stranded hikers, sailors, and pilots. Equipped with a transponder that detects emergency distress signals emitted from emergency beacons, GOES-R will relay the location of activated beacons to NOAA, who will notify search and rescue personnel at the U.S. Coast Guard or Air Force. Since SARSAT began in 1982, the program has aided in the rescue of nearly 40,000 people worldwide, including roughly 8,000 within the United States and its surrounding waters. In fact, on August 24, 2016, NOAA Satellites aided in the rescue of 45 people stranded at sea. It was the largest single rescue event in, or around, the United States credited to NOAA’s role in the international Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system. | |
November 10, 2016: NASA Sets GOES-R/Atlas V Launch Events Coverage. On Saturday, Nov. 19, NASA Television will simulcast a special prelaunch program carried by NASA EDGE starting at 3:45 p.m. on the NASA TV Media Channel. The program is live and featured on the NASA web and social media sites. It will cover NOAA’s GOES-R mission and its launch aboard the Atlas V rocket. On Saturday, Nov. 19, NASA Television launch coverage and commentary will be carried only on the NASA TV Media Channel beginning at 4:45 p.m. Following Soyuz docking coverage at approximately 5:06 p.m., launch coverage will switch to the NASA TV Public Channel. Coverage will conclude after spacecraft separation from the Centaur and the GOES-R solar arrays are deployed, which occurs approximately 3 ½ hours after launch. At that time the spacecraft initial state of health can be determined and will be confirmed on the air. |
|
| November 10, 2016: An Atlas V rocket is set to lift off Nov. 19 at 5:42 p.m. EST to deliver NOAA’s latest-generation weather satellite, GOES-R, into orbit. After several months of processing at Astrotech in Titusville, Florida, the GOES-R spacecraft has been encapsulated inside a payload fairing for protection during the climb through Earth’s atmosphere aboard an ULA Atlas V launch vehicle on the way to orbit. Carrying the most advanced sensors of their kind, the GOES-R spacecraft will fly more than 22,000 miles above Earth where it will offer weather forecasters an unblinking eye on conditions on the planet below. The latest information on the launch can be found on the NESDIS GOES-R launch page. | |
| November 7, 2016: The launch of GOES-R from Cape Canaveral, Florida, is now scheduled for no earlier than November 19, 2016. The NESDIS GOES-R launch page will provide updates as they become available. | |
| November 3, 2016: The launch of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V carrying the GOES-R weather satellite for NOAA and NASA is being rescheduled from November 16, 2016. The postponement was caused by the same minor Atlas V booster issue discovered on ULA's WorldView-4 mission scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The team is actively working towards a resolution. The NESDIS GOES-R launch page will provide updates as they become available. | |
October |
|
| October 25, 2016:NOAA continues to work with its partners -- NASA, ULA, and the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing – preparing for the launch of the GOES-R spacecraft. The new launch date of November 16 has been approved by the 45th Space Wing and the mission team continues to make good progress recovering from the Hurricane Matthew impacts. The NESDIS GOES-R launch page will provide updates as they become available. | |
| October 21, 2016:Processing engineers are set to encapsulate the GOES-R weather satellite into its payload fairing at the Astrotech payload processing facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The work is being performed as teams from NASA, United Launch Alliance and NOAA progress toward a liftoff on Nov. 16 from Space Launch Complex 41 aboard an Atlas V rocket. Launch time is 4:42 p.m. EDT. Follow the progress of preparing GOES-R for launch via the Kennedy Space Center blog. | |
| October 21, 2016:The GOES-R Quarterly Newsletter for the time period July-September 2016 is now available. The future of weather forecasting is just around the corner! Due to impacts from Hurricane Matthew, we are now working toward a November 16, 2016 launch date. The latest information on the launch can be found on the NESDIS GOES-R launch page. This newsletter highlights all of latest activities to prepare GOES-R for launch, as well as updates on other satellites in the GOES-R series, conferences and events, education and outreach, and awards and accolades. | |
October 18, 2016:NOAA continues to work with its partners -- NASA, United Launch Alliance (ULA) and the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing -- to assess the infrastructure and facilities necessary for GOES-R launch following Hurricane Matthew. Additional assessments are underway to fully understand the impact the storm had on local facilities. Before Hurricane Matthew, the launch date was set for November 4, 2016. Once Matthew passed, the launch team began an initial assessment of the launch infrastructure and determined that a move of the launch date is needed based on the storm's impacts. ULA, for planning purposes, has requested a new range date of November 16, pending approval from the 45th Space Wing. This date may be adjusted further. Throughout the storm, the GOES-R spacecraft remained safe inside Astrotech Space Operations, in Titusville, Fla. The NESDIS GOES-R launch page will provide updates as they become available. |
|
| October 13, 2016:NOAA is working with its GOES-R launch partners -- NASA, United Launch Alliance and the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing -- to determine if the satellite’s current Nov. 4, 2016, launch date will hold, or need to be moved, as a result of impacts to launch facilities and equipment during Hurricane Matthew. Throughout the storm, GOES-R remained safe inside Astrotech Space Operations, in Titusville, Florida. The NESDIS GOES-R launch page will provide updates as they become available. | |
| October 6, 2016:GOES-R System Program Director Greg Mandt and Senior Scientist Steve Goodman participated in a Reddit Science “Ask us Anything” on launching NOAA’s revolutionary GOES-R satellite on October 6, 2016, from 1-3 p.m. EDT. Mandt and Goodman chatted live about the GOES-R mission, satellite, science and launch. | |
| October 5, 2016: GOES-R launches in just 30 days! This historic satellite promises faster, more accurate forecasts and warnings. NOAA’s biggest satellite advancement to date will provide National Weather Service forecasters the meteorological equivalent of going from black and white to ultra-high-definition color TV. GOES-R is scheduled to launch November 4, 2016, at 5:40 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket. Editor’s note, November 10, 2016: GOES-R is now scheduled to launch on November 19, 2016. | |
| October 4, 2016:The 2016 GLM Science Team Meeting took place September 27-30 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Presentations from the meeting included program and instrument status, vendor and Calibration Working Group post-launch test and post-launch product test tools, validation reference data, field campaign plans, pre-launch validation studies, Proving Ground demonstrations and forecaster training. | |
September |
|
| September 28, 2016:NOAA will host a media briefing on October 4, 2016 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., to highlight the upcoming launch and mission of GOES-R. Some of the nation’s top satellite and weather experts will be on hand. Additional information | |
| September 23, 2016:Have you always wanted your own GOES-R satellite? Now you can build a GOES-R model using LEGOs! See the instructions and the GOES-R Lego parts list and get started! | |
August |
|
| August 25, 2016:Meteorologist Al Roker from NBC’s Today Show got an exclusive first look at GOES-R in a clean room at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, after it was delivered from Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, to prepare for a November 4, 2016 launch from Kennedy Space Center. On August 25, 2016, the Today Show aired a special segment on GOES-R along with an interview with Dr. Stephen Volz, NOAA Satellite and Information Service Assistant Administrator. Video | |
| August 25, 2016:Media Accreditation for the launch of GOES-R is now open. Media prelaunch and launch activities will take place at Cape Canaveral and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, adjacent to Cape Canaveral. Additional information, deadlines, and link to submit accreditation requests can be found in this NASA press release. | |
| August 23, 2016: GOES-R reached a major milestone on August 22, 2016 when it arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, from Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, aboard a U.S. Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy cargo transport. Shipping a satellite is no small feat. GOES-R is over 18 feet wide and weighs over 6,000 pounds! After its arrival, the GOES-R spacecraft was removed from its shipping container and is now undergoing additional testing and preparation for encapsulation on top of the rocket that will take it to its geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles above Earth. GOES-R is scheduled to launch Nov. 4 at 5:40 p.m. EDT aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Feature Story | Photos | |
July |
|
| July 29, 2016:The GOES-R Proving Ground Science Seminar on July 29, 2016 featured Chad Gravelle and Kim Runk of the National Weather Service (NWS) Operations Proving Ground (OPG). Gravelle provided an overview of the March-April 2016 evaluation to assess the operational impact of multiple spectral bands for the GOES-R Series era. He also presented a detailed analysis of the forecaster feedback with recommendations on incorporating multiple spectral bands and Red-Green-blue (RGB) composites. Gravelle and Runk also answered questions about the evaluation and addressed comments regarding the path forward. Abstract | |
| July 25, 2016: The GOES-R Quarterly Newsletter for the time period April-June 2016 is now available. We are less than four months from the launch of GOES-R! The GOES-R satellite has completed all integration and testing activities and is scheduled to ship to Kennedy Space Center in August. The GOES-R team is also busy preparing for a series of reviews leading up to launch and planning launch week events. GOES-S is now complete with all instruments installed on the spacecraft and preparing for environmental testing in the fall. A new era of geostationary environmental satellites is almost upon us! | |
| July 21, 2016:NOAA scientists joined the Reddit community to discuss GOES-R: Changing the Future of Hurricane Forecasting. Dr. Steve Goodman, GOES-R's senior scientist, and Andrea Schumacher, CIRA research associate and GOES-R satellite liaison to the National Hurricane Center, answered a wide range of questions about NOAA's state-of-the-art satellite, hurricanes, and the future of hurricane forecasting. Read the full conversations | |
| July 1, 2016: The 2016 GOES-R/JPSS OCONUS (Outside the Contiguous United States) Satellite Proving Ground technical meeting was held June 27‒30 at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. The meeting assessed the GOES-R and JPSS science portfolios and NOAA’s operational objectives for the satellites, identifying priorities as they pertain to Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories in the Pacific Ocean. | |
June |
|
| June 17, 2016:The GOES-R Series Program is providing a special opportunity for broadcast meteorologists to attend a workshop at Kennedy Space Center in Florida November 1-4, 2016 and cover the launch of the GOES-R satellite LIVE. The GOES-R Workshop for Broadcast Meteorologists will provide a unique opportunity to bring together broadcast meteorologists from around the nation to engage with professionals from NOAA and NASA on the launch of the revolutionary GOES-R satellite. A limited number of broadcast meteorologists will have their expenses covered. The deadline to register is July 15, 2016. Learn more and register to attend at http://stormcenter.com/goesr/. | |
| June 17, 2016:The GOES-R Preview for Broadcasters short course was held June 14, 2016, preceding the 44th American Meteorological Society Conference on Broadcast Meteorology in Austin, Texas. The course provided broadcast meteorologists with information on GOES-R and its capabilities, how they can improve services to the viewing public, where to find additional information on GOES-R, and what equipment upgrades are needed to handle the new data and products. The course included a mix of presentations and hands-on exercises on the Advanced Baseline Imager, Geostationary Lightning Mapper, GOES-R derived products, broadcaster participation in the GOES-R Proving Ground, and vendor services to broadcasters in the GOES-R era. Twenty broadcast meteorologists from around the United States participated. | |
| June 15, 2016:GOES-R and International Partnerships. To prepare other countries for the new data forecasting capabilities the satellite will bring, members of the GOES-R team have visited meteorological and academic institutions in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa to keep forecasters and researchers informed and to ensure they will be able to access GOES-R data. Working with other nations adheres to NOAA’s principle of open data sharing, allowing other countries to benefit from sophisticated GOES-R satellite data that will help save lives and protect communities through more accurate forecasts. Feature story. | |
May |
|
| May 25, 2016:GOES-R is the future of NOAA’s geostationary weather satellites. With the next generation of weather-observing satellites on the horizon, NOAA is poised to significantly improve weather forecasting and severe weather prediction. GOES-R will provide superior imaging of the western hemisphere with better resolution and increased speed for more accurate forecasts, real-time mapping of lightning activity and improved monitoring of solar activity. Learn more about the capabilities GOES-R will bring to severe storm, tornado, hurricane, fog and space weather forecasting in this Feature story. | |
| May 18, 2016:The 2016 NOAA Satellite Proving Ground/User Readiness Meeting was held May 9-13, 2016 at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The meeting focused on accomplishments to date, current efforts underway, and future actions with respect to infrastructure and training, to ensure the National Weather Service is ready for the receipt and operational use of GOES-R and JPSS-1 data. Program updates, satellite operations, data dissemination and applications, training and Proving Ground demonstrations were highlighted. | |
April |
|
| April 29, 2016:A new ABI Band Quick Information Guide is now available. ABI Band 16 (“CO2” longwave infrared) is used for mean tropospheric air temperature estimation, tropopause delineation, and as part of quantitative cloud products for cloud opacity estimation, cloud-top height assignments of cloud-drift motion vectors, and supplementing Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) observations. This band is also useful when generating Red-Green-Blue (RGB) composite imagery, to highlight the high, cold, and likely icy clouds. | |
| April 18, 2016:The GOES-R Quarterly Newsletter for the time period January–March 2016 is now available. There’s a real sense of excitement building across the GOES-R Series Program as we march closer to launch. GOES-R is currently scheduled to lift off on Thursday, October 13, 2016 at 5:43 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The team is already working on launch preparations and the satellite is undergoing final testing to prepare it for shipment in August. Editor’s note, November 10, 2016: GOES-R is now scheduled to launch on November 19, 2016 | |
| April 13, 2016:The GOES-R satellite is set to launch six months from today, on October 13, 2016. GOES-R, or GOES-16 as it will be known once it reaches geostationary orbit, will launch on board an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Feature Story Editor’s note, November 10, 2016: GOES-R is now scheduled to launch on November 19, 2016. | |
| April 7, 2016:The GOES-R Proving Ground Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Report is now available. The annual report describes the major proving ground activities where the operational value of the GOES-R products and capabilities is evaluated through the use of proxy data and user feedback is collected to identify algorithm/product/service improvements. Report | |
| April 6, 2016:A new ABI Band Quick Information Guide is now available. ABI Band 15 (“dirty” longwave infrared) offers nearly continuous monitoring for numerous applications, though usually through a split window difference with a cleaner window channel. These differences can better estimate low-level moisture, volcanic ash, airborne dust/sand, sea surface temperature, and cloud particle size. | |
March |
|
| March 28, 2016:The GOES-R Proving Ground Science Seminar on March 25, 2016 featured Francis Padula, GOES-R Field Campaign Program Manager. Padula outlined GOES-R field campaign validation plans, planned activities in support of post-launch L1b & L2+ product validation of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) and the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). An integrated approach is planned that includes both high-altitude manned and near-surface unmanned systems coordinated with ground-based observations over several Earth targets. The campaign is scheduled to be conducted in April–June 2017. The seminar provided an overview of the GOES-R field campaign plans and the methods developed to address several validation challenges of geostationary field campaign efforts. The introduction of advanced post-launch validation capabilities will support the needs of next-generation system performance characterization and will push the current state-of-the-art of operational environmental satellite validation. Abstract | |
| March 12, 2016:The GOES-R Education Proving Ground held the second webinar in their series for educators of students in grades 6-12 on March 12, 2016. These webinars are intended to ensure that the education community is ready for the new satellite imagery and improved products that will be available in the GOES-R era. The March 12 seminar highlighted lesson plans for teachers by teachers. Video presentation | |
February |
|
| February 26, 2016:The GOES-R Proving Ground Science Seminar on February 26, 2016 featured Dr. Tyler A. Erickson, Senior Development Advocate at Google. Erickson presented an overview of Earth Engine, Google’s cloud platform for petabyte-scale analysis of satellite imagery and other geospatial data. Originally conceived in 2009 as a platform for global forest monitoring, today scientists, governments, and NGOs around the world are using Earth Engine in areas ranging from food and water security to disaster risk management, public health, biodiversity, and climate change adaptation. His talk described the trends and technologies that informed Google’s development of the Earth Engine platform over the past six years, as well as its experiences helping partners apply the platform to global challenges. Abstract | |
| February 22, 2016:A new ABI Band Quick Information Guide is now available. ABI Band 13 (“clean” longwave infrared) is less sensitive than other infrared window channels to water vapor and, hence, improves atmospheric moisture corrections, cloud particle size estimation, and surface property characterization in derived products. Typically, this band is slightly warmer than the traditional longwave window due to less moisture absorption in the lower troposphere. | |
| February 20, 2016:The GOES-R Education Proving Ground introduced a new webinar series for educators of students in grades 6-12. This four-part webinar series is intended to ensure that the education community is ready for the new satellite imagery and improved products that will be available in the GOES-R era. The first webinar, held on February 20, focused on general information about weather satellites and an overview of the GOES-R Series Program. Video presentation | |
| February 11, 2016: A new ABI Band Quick Information Guide is now available. ABI Band 14 (longwave infrared) enables operational meteorologists to diagnose discrete clouds and organized features for general weather forecasting, analysis, and broadcasting applications. Observations from this infrared window channel can characterize atmospheric processes associated with extratropical cyclones and also in single thunderstorms and convective complexes. | |
| February 3, 2016: The GOES-R Quarterly Newsletter for the time period October–December 2015 is now available. In the final quarter of 2015, the program completed the flight operations review for GOES-R, confirming that the system is ready for operations and data processing after the satellite is launched. The satellite continued on its path toward launch by entering into mechanical testing. We also have successfully simulated GOES-R data flow to the National Weather Service, preparing users for day-one readiness. The GOES-S satellite is also coming together, with all instruments delivered and integration underway. 2016 will surely be an exciting year as we prepare to launch the GOES-R satellite in October! | |
January |
|
| January 8, 2016: As NOAA's GOES-R satellite goes through mechanical testing in preparation for launch in October 2016, the remaining satellites in the series (GOES-S, T, and U) are also making significant progress. All GOES-S instruments have been delivered for integration and the satellite system module and propulsion module have been mated to form the core spacecraft. Development of the GOES-T and GOES-U satellites is also underway. Feature Story |