Advanced new GOES-T weather satellite is 'go' for launch on March 1, NASA says

The next advanced weather satellite for the United States is ready to launch this week on an Atlas V rocket.

The new GOES-T weather satellite was cleared by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a planned March 1 launch. Liftoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. The United Launch Alliance is conducting the flight from Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida.

The combined government and contractor launch team is prepared to add GOES-T to the family and continue this amazing legacy of these weather sentinels. NASA calls the satellite "Goes", which is short for "geostationary operational environmental satellite".

Video: How NOAA's GOES-T weather satellite will launch on Atlas V

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The third of four advanced weather satellites designed to serve the U.S. meteorological forecast needs will be renamed GOES-18 once in space. They are part of the $11.7 billion GOES-R satellite series program, which launched the GOES-16 weather satellite in 2016 and the GOES 17 weather satellite in 2018). The fourth satellite, GOES-U, will be launched in the year 2024.

Steve Volz, the assistant administrator for satellite and information services at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, said that the GOES series has changed the way severe event monitoring is done. The first GOES satellite was launched in 1975, with NASA and NOAA working together on the program.

It will be possible to observe weather across the entire Western Hemisphere with the help of the other GOES satellites. The Advanced Baseline Imager is the primary instrument of the satellite. According to an overview, it can Scan the Earth five times faster and with four times the resolution of its predecessors.

The new satellite carries a first-of-its-kind tool to detect severe storms before they cause damage.

Four different instruments are used to monitor space weather. A solar ultraviolet imager will take pictures of the sun while an U.V. and X-ray sensor will detect solar flares. A suite of instruments to track changes in Earth's magnetic field from space weather events.

Pam Sullivan, the program director of the GOES-R program, said that a big part of the mission is doing solar observations.

Before the weather-watching mission can begin, it needs to reach space. Good weather is needed to do that.

Current forecasts predict a good chance of good weather at launch time on Tuesday, with the weather expected to improve to 70% on Wednesday if NASA and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration have to delay.

If the mission is delayed until Thursday, it will be up against another launch from Pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center, where Starlink internet satellites will be lofted. The mission is scheduled to start at 9:32 a.m. The time is 1432 hours.

The ULA could still support an afternoon liftoff for GOES-T on March 3 if needed, even though the morning launch of the SpaceX flight will take priority.

If we get ourselves into that situation, it looks doable, but I hope it won't be needed.

Follow him at@tariqjmalik or email him at tmalik@space.com. Follow us on social media.