NOAA’s GOES-S Satellite is Ready for Today's Launch

Today is launch day for NOAA’s newest weather satellite, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S). A two-hour launch window will open at 5:02 p.m. EST today. GOES-S will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Stay tuned — launch coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is rolled from the Vertical Integration Facility to the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch vehicle will send NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-S) into orbit. The GOES series is designed to significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation’s economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to lift off atop the Atlas V rocket March 1 at 5:02 p.m. EST.

Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing are predicting an 80 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff of the Atlas V rocket. On launch day, the primary weather concern is cumulus clouds and strengthening ground winds.

Watch the live webcast with NASA Edge during the GOES-S launch vehicle rollout at SLC-41. The live show begins at 10 a.m. and can be viewed on NASA TV and social media at:

NASA TV: www.nasa.gov/live

NASA EDGE Facebook: www.facebook.com/nasaedgefan

NASA EDGE YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/NASAedge

NASA EDGE Ustream: www.ustream.tv/nasaedge

GOES-S Countdown to T-Zero, Episode 3: Rocket Science
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket reaches another major milestone on the road to T-Zero, as NOAA’s GOES-S spacecraft prepares for launch. Stacking the rocket begins with the booster – the largest component – and continues with the addition of four solid rocket motors and the Centaur upper stage. GOES-S, the next in a series of advanced weather satellites, is slated to launch aboard the Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.