When And Where To Watch Live As NASA Launches GOES-T, A New Next-Gen Satellite To Study More Than Half Our Planet
NOAA’s GOES-T satellite, aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) rocket, sits on the launchpad at … [+]
NASA/Elizabeth Wilk
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) are readying to launch GOES-T, a new satellite that will study storms, extreme weather, the progress of climate change and even incoming “space weather” over more than half the globe.
Due to launch today—Tuesday, March 1, 2022—GOES-T will provide critical data to improve weather forecasting covering the entire western hemisphere between New Zealand and the west coast of Africa.
Here’s when and where to watch it launch—and everything else you need to know about GOES-T.
When will GOES-T launch?
GOES-T is scheduled for liftoff at 4:38 p.m. EST (21:38 UTC) on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
It will launch on top of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from the Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
Where is GOES-T going?
It eventually will go into a geosynchronous orbit about 22,300 miles/35,800 kilometers) above the western hemisphere. It will be geostationary, remaining in a fixed position in the sky over Pacific Ocean so it can monitor the western U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii.
However, its first task will be to take 10 days to reach a temporary orbit at t 89.5° West longitude—over the center of the U.S.—for testing and calibration.
How, when and where to watch GOES-T launch
The best way it to watch the NASA TV channel on YouTube, which will begin broadcasting at 4:00 p.m. EST (21:00 UTC) Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
There’s a two-hour launch window so it could launch as late as 6:00 p.m. EST (23:00 UTC).
How will GOES-T change weather forecasting?
NOAA constantly monitors weather across the Western Hemisphere using a fleet of weather and monitoring satellites. So far it’s got GOES-16 (GOES East) and GOES-17 (GOES West), launched in 2016 and 2018, respectively (you can see their global images of Earth here).
GOES-T will be renamed GOES-18 once in orbit and immediately replace GOES-17 (which will become a spare). GOES-U, which will become GOES-19, will launch in 2024.
GOES-T’s optics system will scan scan the Earth five times faster and with four times the resolution of its predecessors. It can track a single storm at full resolution and will help forecasters track and predict thunderstorms, tornadoes, fog, hurricanes, flash floods and other severe weather.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
