GOES-R Weather Satellite Launches Successfully
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (WCCO) -- Your weather forecast is about to get better. A new weather satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Saturday night.
The GOES-R satellite launched without any problems. It's the first of three satellites being built to replace the aging United States weather satellite system.
After 16 years of planning and an hour of delays that pushed launch to the last possible minute of Saturday's window, GOES-R finally lifted off from Pad 41 at Kennedy Space Center.
For the weather and space nerds there Saturday it was like watching a Super Bowl that's tied in overtime.
From 4 miles away the launch sounded like nothing initially; then that sound arrived from across the Banana River -- a crackling roar – and then light in the sky, like a hazy summer evening.
The satellite is the first of four new weather satellites, each of which have 40 years of technological advancements on board. Our current fleet of satellites, which will be phased out over the next several years, have sensors and technologies that were developed in the 1970s
It's a quantum leap forward -- like going from black and white to HDTV overnight.
While the launch is done, the mission for the satellite is really just beginning. About two weeks from now the satellite will reach geostationary orbit 22,400 miles above the earth, and then it will begin a several month process of testing and calibrating.
Here on Earth, we'll see the data around March, and -- barring any problems -- the satellite will remain in service for at least 10 years.
