The last NOAA satellite in the NOAA GOES-R series of weather satellites, GOES-U, is set to go into space.
Two-hour launch window opens at 5:16 PM EDT (2116 GMT) on June 25 and the mission will head for the stars on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s famous Space Coast.
If you’re going to be in or around Cape Canaveral, there are many places from which you can watch the rocket ascend into the sky. Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism compiled a map and list launch sightseeing spots including beaches, parks and restaurants around Kennedy Space Center where you can camp. Don’t feel like leaving the house or traveling to Florida? You can watch the launch live here on Space.com thanks to NASA. Coverage begins at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT).
“Every launch is worth watching, it’s something fun and exciting,” Rex Engelhardt, GOES-U mission manager for NASA’s Launch Services Program, told Space.com. “It’s kind of a show and it’s over quickly. With the booster return you get, it’s nice – you can drag it out a little bit.”
Related: The GOES-U satellite will capture a journey into space on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket
The first launch of the series, GOES-R, was in 2016, followed by GOES-S and GOES-T in 2018 and 2022. But compared to its three predecessors in the series, GOES-U will be quite the shining star in the constellation.
Not only will GOES-U have all the bells and whistles of its siblings—with instruments that provide state-of-the-art advanced imagery, make atmospheric measurements of Earth’s weather, oceans, and the environment, as well as map totals in real time. lightning activity – but GOES-U will also have improvements to each component based on what adjustments NOAA found were needed from the previous trio.
“Our five-year partnership with NOAA has resulted in the successful operation of more than 60 satellites dedicated to weather forecasting, severe storm and hurricane forecasting, and climate observation. We are very pleased to have completed four series of GOES-R satellites, the most capable geostationary weather satellite in our nation’s history, said John Gagosian, director of the NASA Joint Agency’s Satellite Division. virtual media briefing last month. “I am proud that NOAA and NASA have worked so well together throughout the duration of the GOES-R program. We are poised for a very good outcome.”
It will be the successor to NOAA’s GOES-R series Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) satellite system., which is scheduled to launch in the early 2030s.