Launch of the GOES-R satellite
By TROY McCLELLAN
The nighttime skies over Kennedy Space Center lit up with the launch GOES-R advanced weather forecasting satellite that was launched Nov. 19, at 7:42 p.m. from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
The powerful instruments and cameras aboard GOES-R will dramatically improve real-time weather predictions and will allow for faster and more accurate hurricane tracking and intensity forecasts, in addition to increasing thunderstorm and tornado warning lead times. It also carries significantly higher resolution cameras and sensors allowing for more detailed images of storms and weather phenomenon.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service, our current weather satellites do not provide a real-time view of the global weather conditions and can often be hours behind what has already happened. The GOES-R will provide real-time observations and will help meteorologist, provide earlier and advanced warning to those in the paths of devastating weather events.