SpaceX, NASA launch GOES-U for NOAA

NASA and SpaceX launched the GOES-U weather satellite for NOAA today from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 05:26 PM EDT, ten minutes after the launch window opened, with thunderstorms looming in the distance. With mission managers satisfied that the storms would not affect either the launch of landings of Falcon Heavy, the launch proceeded as planned.

Around 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the two side booster used for the mission returned and safely landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, while the center core booster was expended and not recovered.

The satellite was safely delivered into its initial orbit and, after separating from Falcon Heavy’s second stage, it will continue under its own power to its final location in geosynchronous orbit, where it will undergo a commissioning process prior to its entering service for NOAA. SpaceX announced a successful deployment just before 10 PM EDT, marking a successful mission that had begun roughly 4.5 hours earlier.

Launch Replay

Payload

According to NOAA, “GOES-U will provide critical atmospheric, hydrologic, oceanic, climatic, solar and space data for advanced detection and monitoring of environmental phenomena that threaten the security and well-being of everyone in the Western Hemisphere.”

They add, “GOES-U will be renamed GOES-19 after it reaches geostationary orbit. Following a successful on-orbit checkout of its instruments and systems, NOAA plans to put GOES-19 into operational service, replacing GOES-16 as GOES East. GOES-19 will work in tandem with GOES-18, NOAA’s GOES West satellite. Together, GOES East and GOES West watch over more than half the globe – from the west coast of Africa to New Zealand.”

Next Scheduled Launch

SpaceX plans to launch Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s SLC-40 on Thursday, June 27th.

• Date: NET June 27, 2024
• Organization: SpaceX
• Mission: Starlink 10-3
• Rocket: Falcon 9
• Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
• Launch Window: 07:00 AM – 11:00 AM EDT
• Payload: 22 communications satellites

Keep in mind that launch dates and times change often. Launch attempts can be scrubbed anytime due to weather, technical reasons, or range conditions.