Congratulations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics & Space Agency (NASA) of the United States for the successful launch of their Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R Series (GOES-R), which successfully launched from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket on November 19, 2016 at 6:42 p.m. EST.
GOES-R, which will be known as GOES-16 once it reaches geostationary orbit, is the United States’ next generation of geostationary weather satellites.
The GOES-R website states, “The GOES-R series will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property…” and provide other important information, such as:
- Improved hurricane track and intensity forecasts
- Increased thunderstorm and tornado warning lead time
- Earlier warning of ground lightning strike hazards
- Better detection of heavy rainfall and flash flooding risks
- Improved aviation flight route planning
- Improved air quality warnings and alerts
- Better fire detection and intensity estimation
- Improved solar flare warnings for communications and navigation disruptions
- More accurate monitoring of energetic particles responsible for radiation hazards to humans and spacecraft
- Better monitoring of space weather to improve geomagnetic storm forecasting
Learn more on theGOES-R website.