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NOAA, NASA TO LAUNCH LATEST EYE-IN-THE-SKY WEATHER SATELLITE
An advanced U.S. weather satellite which will monitor hurricanes, severe
thunderstorms, flash floods and other severe weather, is being prepared for
launch May 3 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the Commerce
Department's NOAA and the NASA announced today. Liftoff of the
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-L, is targeted to
occur during a launch window that begins at 2:27 a.m. EDT from Pad A at
Complex 36 on Cape Canaveral.
"GOES satellites are a mainstay of weather forecasting in the United
States," said Gerry Dittberner, NOAA's GOES program manager. "They are the
backbone of short-term forecasting, or nowcasting. GOES images of clouds
are well-known to all Americans; the images can be seen on television
weather broadcasts every day."
The real-time weather data gathered by GOES satellites, combined with data
from Doppler radars and automated surface observing systems, greatly aids
weather forecasters in providing better warnings of severe weather. These
warnings help to save lives, preserve property, and benefit commercial
interests. For example, in 1999, NOAA's National Weather Service had an
average lead time of 11.6 minutes for tornado warnings and an average lead
time of 41 minutes for flash floods.
"NASA is excited about providing another fine tool for the National Weather
Service to use for weather operations," said Martin A. Davis, NASA's GOES
program manager, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The
launch of the GOES-L is the continuation of a 25-year joint program between
NASA and NOAA.
The United States operates two meteorological satellites in geostationary
orbit 22,300 miles over the Equator, one over the East Coast and one over
the West Coast. NOAA GOES-10, launched in 1997, is currently overlooking
the West Coast out into the Pacific including Hawaii; it is located at 135
degrees West longitude. NOAA GOES-8, launched in April 1994, is
overlooking the East Coast out into the Atlantic Ocean and is positioned at
75 degrees West.
NOAA GOES-L will be stored on orbit ready for operation when needed
as a replacement for GOES-8 or -10. "NOAA GOES-L will ensure continuity of
GOES data from two GOES, especially for the Atlantic hurricane season,"
Dittberner said. The satellite will be renamed NOAA GOES-11 once reaching
geostationary orbit.
NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
operates the GOES series of satellites. After the satellites complete
on-orbit checkout, NOAA assumes responsibility for command and control,
data receipt, and product generation and distribution. The GOES spacecraft
are a critical component of the ongoing National Weather Service
modernization program, aiding forecasters in providing more precise and
timely forecasts.
Goddard manages the design, development and launch of the spacecraft for
NOAA. NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for government
oversight of launch operations and countdown activities. GOES-L, built by
Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space and Communications Ltd.,
will be launched on an Atlas IIA rocket, built by Lockheed Martin. The
on-board meteorological instruments for GOES-L include an imager and a
sounder manufactured by ITT Industries Aerospace/Communications Division.
The final satellite in the current GOES series will be launched as required
to support NOAA's dual-satellite geostationary observing system.
GOES information and imagery are available at
http://www.goes.noaa.gov
http://www.oso.noaa.gov/
http://goes1.gsfc.nasa.gov
http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/
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