Atlas V Fire and Fury Get Gorgeous GOES-R to Geostationary Orbit; Photo/Video Gallery

Blastoff of revolutionary NASA/NOAA GOES-R weather satellite on ULA Atlas V on Nov. 19, 2016 - as seen from remote camera at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.  GOES-R will deliver a quantum leap in America’s weather forecasting capabilities. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Blastoff of revolutionary NASA/NOAA GOES-R weather satellite on ULA Atlas V on Nov. 19, 2016 – as seen from remote camera at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. GOES-R will deliver a quantum leap in America’s weather forecasting capabilities. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – The fire and fury of the mighty ULA Atlas V got the gorgeous NASA/NOAA GOES-R weather observatory to geostationary orbit just days ago – as a ‘Thanksgiving’ present to all the people of Earth through the combined efforts of the government/industry/university science and engineering teams of hard working folks who made it possible.

Check out this dazzling photo and video gallery from myself and several space journalist colleagues showing how GOES got going – from prelaunch to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:42 p.m. EST in the evening on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016.

Three and a half hours after liftoff, the bus sized spacecraft successfully separated from the Atlas Centaur upper stage and deployed its life giving solar arrays.

ULA Atlas V rocket and GOES-R weather observatory streak to orbit from launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit:  Julian Leek
ULA Atlas V rocket and GOES-R weather observatory streak to orbit from launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: Julian Leek

GOES-R is the most advanced and powerful weather observatory ever built and will bring about a ‘quantum leap’ in weather forecasting.

It’s dramatic new imagery will show the weather in real time enabling critical life and property forecasting, help pinpoint evacuation zones and also save people’s lives in impacted areas of severe weather including hurricanes and tornadoes.

Here’s a pair of beautiful launch videos from space colleague Jeff Seibert and myself:

Video Caption: 5 views from the launch of the NOAA/NASA GOES-R weather satellite on 11/19/2016 from Pad 41 CCAFS on a ULA Atlas. Credit: Jeff Seibert

Video Caption: Launch of the NOAA/NASA GOES-R weather observatory satellite on Nov. 19, 2016 from pad 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a ULA Atlas V rocket – as seen in this remote video taken at the pad. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com

GOES-R is the first in a new series of revolutionary NASA/NOAA geostationary weather satellites that will soon lead to more accurate and timely forecasts, watches and warnings for the Earth’s Western Hemisphere when it becomes fully operational in about a year.

Ignition of  ULA Atlas V rocket and GOES-R weather observatory at launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit:  Julian Leek
Ignition of ULA Atlas V rocket and GOES-R weather observatory at launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: Julian Leek

GOES-R, which stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R Series – is a new and advanced transformational weather satellite that will vastly enhance the quality, speed and accuracy of weather forecasting available to forecasters for Earth’s Western Hemisphere.

The 11,000 pound satellite was built by prime contractor Lockheed Martin and is the first of a quartet of four identical satellites – comprising GOES-R, S, T, and U – at an overall cost of about $11 Billion. This will keep the GOES satellite system operational through 2036.

Blastoff of revolutionary NASA/NOAA GOES-R weather satellite on ULA Atlas V on Nov. 19, 2016 - as seen from remote camera at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Blastoff of revolutionary NASA/NOAA GOES-R weather satellite on ULA Atlas V on Nov. 19, 2016 – as seen from remote camera at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com

The science suite includes the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) built by Harris Corporation, the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) built by Lockheed Martin, Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI), Extreme Ultraviolet and X-Ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS), Space Environment In-Situ Suite (SEISS), and the Magnetometer (MAG).

ABI is the primary instrument and will collect 3 times more spectral data with 4 times greater resolution and scans 5 times faster than ever before – via the primary Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument – compared to the current GOES satellites.

Atlas V and GOES-R aloft after Nov. 19, 2016 liftoff of the powerful NASA/NOAA weather observatory on ULA Atlas V from pad 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida - as seen from the VAB roof.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Atlas V and GOES-R aloft after Nov. 19, 2016 liftoff of the powerful NASA/NOAA weather observatory on ULA Atlas V from pad 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida – as seen from the VAB roof. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com

GOES-R launched on the massively powerful Atlas V 541 configuration vehicle, augmented by four solid rocket boosters on the first stage.

The payload fairing is 5 meters (16.4 feet) in diameter. The first stage is powered by the Russian built duel nozzle RD AMROSS RD-180 engine. And the Centaur upper stage is powered by a single-engine Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C engine.

This was only the fourth Atlas V launch employing the 541 configuration.

ULA Atlas V rocket and GOES-R weather observatory at launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit:  Dawn Leek Taylor
ULA Atlas V rocket and GOES-R weather observatory at launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: Dawn Leek Taylor

Stay tuned here for Ken’s continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news.

Ken Kremer

Track mobile used to push ULS Atlas V and NASA/NOAA GOES-R to pad 41 from VIF processing facility. Credit: Lane Hermann
Track mobile used to push ULS Atlas V and NASA/NOAA GOES-R to pad 41 from VIF processing facility. Credit: Lane Hermann
Launch of NASA/NOAA GOES-R weather observatory on ULA Atlas V on Nov. 19, 2016 from pad 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, as seen from Playalinda beach. Credit: Jillian Laudick
Launch of NASA/NOAA GOES-R weather observatory on ULA Atlas V on Nov. 19, 2016 from pad 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, as seen from Playalinda beach. Credit: Jillian Laudick
Atlas V/GOES-R launch as seen rising over neighbor houses in Titusville, Florida  on Nov. 19, 2016. Credit: Melissa Bayles
Atlas V/GOES-R launch as seen rising over neighbor houses in Titusville, Florida on Nov. 19, 2016. Credit: Melissa Bayles
Atlas V rocket and GOES-R nighttime launch soars over the swimming pool at the Quality Inn Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida  on Nov. 19, 2016. Credit: Wesley Baskin
Atlas V rocket and GOES-R nighttime launch soars over the swimming pool at the Quality Inn Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida on Nov. 19, 2016. Credit: Wesley Baskin
The NASA/NOAA GOES-R (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite - R Series) being processed at Astrotech Space Operations, in Titusville, FL, in advance of launch on a ULA Atlas V on Nov. 19, 2016.  GOES-R will be America’s most advanced weather satellite. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
The NASA/NOAA GOES-R (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R Series) being processed at Astrotech Space Operations, in Titusville, FL, in advance of launch on a ULA Atlas V on Nov. 19, 2016. GOES-R will be America’s most advanced weather satellite. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com