GOES-U is a weather satellite, the fourth and last of the GOES-R series of satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The GOES-R series will extend the availability of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system until 2036. The satellite is built by Lockheed Martin, based on the A2100 platform.[2][3]

GOES-U
Artistic rendering of GOES-U once deployed
NamesGeostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-U
Mission typeEarth weather forecasting
OperatorNOAA
Mission duration15 years (planned)
0 days (in progress)
Spacecraft properties
BusA2100
ManufacturerLockheed Martin
Launch mass5,000 kg (11,023 lb)
Dry mass2,925 kg (6,449 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date25 June 2024 5:26pm EDT (21:26 GMT)[1]
RocketFalcon Heavy
Launch siteKennedy Space Center, LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeGeostationary orbit
← GOES-18
 

Launch

The satellite was successfully launched into space atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on 25 June 2024 at 5:26pm EDT (21:26 GMT),[1] from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, United States. The redesign of the loop heat pipe to prevent an anomaly, as seen in GOES-17, is not expected to delay the launch as it did with GOES-T.[4]

GOES-U also carries a copy of the Naval Research Laboratory's Compact CORonagraph (CCOR) instrument which, along with the CCOR planned for Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1), will allow continued monitoring of solar wind after the retirement of the NASA-ESA SOHO satellite in 2025.[5][6]

GOES-U has a dry mass of 2,925 kg (6,449 lb) and a fueled mass of 5,000 kg (11,023 lb).[7]

References

  1. ^ a b https://www.space.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-goes-u-weather-satellite-launch
  2. ^ "GOES-R, S, T, U Spacecraft Overview". Spaceflight101. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  3. ^ Andrews, Hillary (27 March 2024). "GOES-U weather satellite to launch June 25 after leak causes delay". FOX Weather. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  4. ^ Werner, Debra (9 January 2019). "Lockheed Martin halts work on GOES-T to wait for instrument fix". SpaceNews. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  5. ^ Vargas, Marco (7 January 2019). "The NOAA Space Weather Follow-On Program to Ensure Continuity of CME Imagery and Solar Wind Space-Based Observations". American Meteorilogical Society 99th Annual Meeting. AMS. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1". NESDIS. NOAA. Retrieved 24 March 2020.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ "GOES-R Series Spacecraft Overview". GOES-R Series. Retrieved 17 January 2024.