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ЦитироватьAnna Heiney (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/author/aheiney/)
Posted on December 4, 2017

GOES-S to Add to Advanced Weather Satellite Constellation

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130789.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaasatellites/14213119288/in/album-72157662202116823/)
Artist rendering of a GOES-R series spacecraft with Earth in the background. Image credit: Lockheed Martin

The Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R Series – consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft – significantly improves the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and our nation's economic health and prosperity.

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The satellites provide advanced imaging with increased spatial resolution and faster coverage for more accurate forecasts, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and improved monitoring of solar activity and space weather. The GOES-R Series will extend the availability of the operational GOES satellite system through 2036.

GOES-S is slated to launch in March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

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ЦитироватьAnna Heiney (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/author/aheiney/)
Posted on December 5, 2017

GOES-S Spacecraft Arrives at Kennedy Space Center

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130790.jpg) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/wp-content/uploads/sites/280/2017/12/KSC-20171204-PH_LCH01_0009.jpg)
A C-5M transport aircraft arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S). The satellite will be offloaded and transported to the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

The next satellite in line to join NOAA's environment-monitoring network is one significant step closer to launch following its delivery Monday to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) arrived at the Florida spaceport aboard a U.S. Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy cargo transport aircraft which touched down on Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility runway Monday evening. The satellite will be offloaded today and transported to the Astrotech payload processing facility in nearby Titusville, where it will spend the next several weeks undergoing final preparations, tests and checkouts for liftoff.

Launch is planned for March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41.

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ЦитироватьGOES-S weather satellite arrives in Florida for launch preparations
December 5, 2017 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/12/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143852.jpg)
The GOES-S satellite, seen here inside its shipping container, arrived at its Florida launch base Monday. Credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

NOAA's latest weather satellite, a new-generation geostationary observatory named GOES-S, landed at the Kennedy Space Center's former space shuttle runway Monday aboard a U.S. Air Force transport jet, ready to begin final preparations for launch March 1 on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

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Cocooned in a transport container, the GOES-S weather satellite left its Lockheed Martin factory in Denver early Monday, and crews loaded the spacecraft into the cavernous cargo hold of a C-5M Super Galaxy at Buckley Air Force Base to begin the cross-country journey.

The jumbo jet touched down at KSC on Monday afternoon, and NASA, Lockheed Martin and Air Force teams offloaded the satellite for a truck ride to the Astrotech payload processing facility in nearby Titusville, where it arrived Tuesday.

"This is a huge milestone for our program in that we've got the spacecraft all built and tested, and it's ready to go," said Jeff Coyne, head of Lockheed Martin's team overseeing GOES-S's assembly, test and launch operations.

"The hard part is behind us," Coyne said in a phone interview Monday before the satellite's shipment to Florida. "Now we've got some of the fun stuff ahead of us. We get to put it on a big, giant C-5M transport plane, fly it to the Kennedy Space Center, do a little work, and then put it on an Atlas 5 rocket and launch it."

The GOES-S satellite is the second of four upgraded weather observatories built by Lockheed Martin for NOAA. The GOES spacecraft are stationed in geostationary orbit nearly 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) over the equator, where they hover over the same geographic position, circling Earth in lock-step with the planet's rotation.

Fr om their high-altitude vantage point, the GOES satellites collect near real-time imagery of hurricanes, storm systems and other weather phenomena to provide forecasters information on their location and movement.

The first in the new series of geostationary weather satellites, known as GOES-R before launch and now renamed GOES-16, debuted a more powerful camera that can take higher-resolution images more frequently. The Advanced Baseline Imager, built by Harris Corp., is sensitive in 16 optical and infrared channels — up from five channels on earlier satellites — allowing meteorologists to distinguish between snow, fog, clouds, volcanic ash, and other particles suspended in the atmosphere.

The ABI camera can also take images of areas-of-interest as often as every 30 seconds, feeding more timely data to forecasters than possible with earlier weather satellites.

The new GOES satellites also carry lightning mappers and a suite of sensors to monitor the sun's energy output and the space environment, helping to improve space weather forecasts.

The modernized four-satellite weather network is expected to cost nearly $11 billion when complete, including NOAA's purchase of the spacecraft, launch services, instruments and upgrades to ground systems.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143848.jpg)
The GOES-S satellite undergoes a solar array deployment test at Lockheed Martin's factory in Denver. Credit: Lockheed Martin

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Liftoff of the GOES-S satellite is set for 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) March 1 from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The spacecraft will ride a ULA Atlas 5 rocket with four strap-on solid rocket boosters into geostationary transfer orbit, an elliptical drop-off orbit on the way to GOES-S's final perch 22,000 miles over the equator.

The launch window March 1 extends for two hours.

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Coyne said technicians and engineers will spend the next couple of months verifying GOES-S is ready for launch.

"We'll start out letting the instruments take their turn to do their final inspections, their cleanings, door openings, getting the instruments all ready for operation in flight," Coyne said. "We'll also do our own cleaning on the spacecraft. We run the spacecraft through a limited performance test, put it through its paces one more time, and then we pretty much head into the propellant fueling and get the spacecraft all fueled up and ready to go."

The GOES-S satellite should be fueled with its mixture of storable hypergolic propellants for its planned 15-year mission by early February, then ground crews will mate the craft with the Atlas 5's payload attach fitting and encapsulate it inside the rocket's Swiss-made payload fairing.

If all goes well, the fully-fueled satellite — weighing more than 11,000 pounds (5,000 kilograms) — will be transferred to ULA's Vertical Integration Facility at pad 41 in mid-February for hoisting atop the Atlas 5 rocket.

The move of GOES-S comes as ground controllers monitor the planned drift of the GOES-16 weather satellite toward its final operational position at 75.2 degrees west longitude, wh ere it will enter service Dec. 20 as NOAA's GOES-East satellite covering the eastern United States and the Atlantic Ocean.

GOES-16 launched in November 2016 and has completed a year-long test and calibration campaign to confirm the functionality and performance of its instruments.

NOAA operations weather satellites in the GOES-East and GOES-West positions, and maintains at least one backup observatory ready to replace one of the primary spacecraft in case of a failure, ensuring uninterrupted coverage of the Western Hemisphere from Guam to the west coast of Africa.

The GOES-13 satellite will be moved to a standby location once GOES-16 begins operations in the GOES-East slot.

The GOES-S satellite will be renamed GOES-17 after its launch, and officials plan to position it in the GOES-West slot to track weather systems in the Pacific Ocean, Alaska, Hawaii and the western United States.

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Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185605.jpg) Astro‏ @AstroCapcom (https://twitter.com/AstroCapcom) 1 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/AstroCapcom/status/938167104171278343)

@StephenClark1 (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1) @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) @flatoday_jdean (https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean) Anyone have a clue what this is (I am assuming flight hardware)? Encountered convoy of heavy KSC Security and escort vehicles going the wrong direction on Nasa Parkway outside of the gate headed in the direction of US 1 at 1100.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/171761.jpg)

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/171762.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/171763.jpg)
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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67521.jpg) Stephen Clark‏ @StephenClark1 (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1) 1 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/938170368535269376)

В ответ @AstroCapcom (https://twitter.com/AstroCapcom) @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) @flatoday_jdean (https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean)

That's the GOES-S weather satellite. It arrived at KSC yesterday for Atlas 5 launch March 1.

ЦитироватьAnna Heiney (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/author/aheiney/)
Posted on December 7, 2017

GOES-S Unpacked for Start of Prelaunch Preps

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130793.jpg) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/wp-content/uploads/sites/280/2017/12/KSC-20171205-PH_MAS01_0034.jpg)
Photo credit: NOAA

Technicians and engineers at the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility have placed NOAA's GOES-S satellite on a work stand to begin routine but critical preflight inspections, tests and checkouts. These processing milestones will ensure the spacecraft is ready to withstand the rigors of launch and take its place as the second in a new generation of advanced geostationary weather satellites.

Спойлер

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130791.jpg) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/wp-content/uploads/sites/280/2017/12/KSC-20171205-PH_LCH01_0075.jpg)
Photo credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

The satellite arrived Dec. 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center aboard a U.S. Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy cargo transport aircraft and was offloaded the following morning (right). It was then transported to the Astrotech facility, located in nearby Titusville, Florida, to begin processing. Inside the Astrotech high bay, team members carefully removed the shipping container, inspected the satellite (below) and placed it into a workstand (above) for prelaunch work to begin.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130792.jpg) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/wp-content/uploads/sites/280/2017/12/KSC-20171205-PH_MAS01_0025.jpg)
Photo credit: NOAA

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ЦитироватьDec. 9, 2017
RELEASE 17-34

NOAA's GOES-S Arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for Launch Processing

NOAA's GOES-S (https://flic.kr/s/aHsmabsF4m) satellite arrived safely at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility, Florida, to prepare for its launch planned for March 1, 2018. GOES-S was shipped fr om Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, Colorado, on Dec. 4 aboard a U.S. Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy cargo transport.

Спойлер

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/207742.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/goes_shipment_day_two_12_of_39.jpg)
NOAA's GOES-S satellite arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Dec. 4 aboard a U.S. Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy cargo jet.
Credits: NOAA/NASA/Michael Starobin

After its arrival, the GOES-S spacecraft was pulled from its shipping container, and is now undergoing additional testing and preparation for encapsulation on top of the rocket that will take it to its geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles above Earth.

"This is a major milestone for the GOES-S team. GOES-16, its sister satellite, is about to become operational and is proving to be a game-changer for weather forecasting and environmental hazard assessment," said Tim Walsh, acting system program director for the GOES-R Series Program at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "We are excited to get GOES-S into orbit and extend the area covered by this revolutionary new technology."
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/136860.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/24014719637/)

GOES-S is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GOES-S will weigh over 11,000 pounds at launch.

GOES-S is the second satellite in NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) – R Series, which includes GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U. GOES satellites are designated with a letter prior to launch and a number once they achieve geostationary orbit. GOES-R, the first satellite in the series, launched in November 2016 and is now GOES-16. GOES-16 will take its place as NOAA's GOES-East satellite later this month, keeping an eye on the continental United States and the Atlantic Ocean.

GOES-S will be designated GOES-17 upon reaching geostationary orbit. After a period of on-orbit test and checkout, GOES-17 will be operational as GOES-West, providing coverage of the western U.S., Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean. An operational GOES-17 will give the Western Hemisphere two next-generation geostationary environmental satellites. Together, GOES-16 and GOES-17 will observe Earth from the west coast of Africa all the way to Guam.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/207743.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/goes_shipment_day_two_32_of_39.jpg)
GOES-S now resides in a clean room at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, wh ere it will undergo preparations for launch.
Credits: NOAA/NASA/Michael Starobin

Like the other satellites in the series, GOES-S carries a suite of sophisticated Earth-sensing, lightning-detecting, solar imaging and space weather monitoring instruments. The advanced technology on board GOES-S will provide critical data and imagery in near-real time on severe weather events such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and flash floods, as well as hazards like fog, aerosols, dust storms, volcanic eruptions and forest fires.

The GOES-R Series is a collaborative acquisition and development effort between NOAA and NASA to develop, launch and operate the satellites. NOAA manages the GOES satellites while NASA oversees the acquisition of the spacecraft and instruments in addition to the management of the launch service through NASA's Launch Services Program based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For more information about the GOES-R Series of satellites, visit:

www.goes-r.gov/ (http://www.goes-r.gov/)

John Leslie (mailto:John.leslie@noaa.gov?subject=Re%3AGOES)
NOAA (http://www.noaa.gov), Silver Spring, Md.
John.leslie@noaa.gov (mailto:John.leslie@noaa.gov)
 301-713-0214

Rob Gutro (mailto:robert.j.gutro@nasa.gob?subject=Re%3A%20GOES)
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (http://www.nasa.gov/goddard), Greenbelt, Md.
Robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov (mailto:Robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov)
 301-286-4044

Tori McLendon (mailto:tori.n.mclendon@nasa.gov%20%20%20?subject=re%3A%20launch)
NASA's Kennedy Space Center (https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/index.html), Florida
tori.n.mclendon@nasa.gov (mailto:tori.n.mclendon@nasa.gov)   
 321-867-9165

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Last Updated: Dec. 8, 2017
Editor: Sara Blumberg

ЦитироватьLockheed Martin Continues to Strengthen Weather Forecasting With Second Next-Generation Weather Satellite

NOAA's GOES-S Weather Satellite Arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for Launch Preparation

DENVER, Dec. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire (http://www.prnewswire.com/)/ -- Timely and accurate weather forecasts can directly affect public safety and protection of property; and the next satellite in the NOAA GOES-R Series will continue to provide more data for sharper, more detailed views of weather systems.

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NOAA's next weather satellite in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R Series, GOES-S (http://www.goes-r.gov/), left its Colorado home where it was built and is now in Florida where it will undergo preparations for launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Monday, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) shipped the next-generation satellite aboard an Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy (http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/c5.html) cargo transport plane to its Astrotech Space Operations (http://www.astrotechspaceoperations.com/) facility in Titusville, Florida.

GOES-S is scheduled to launch on March 1, 2018, when it will join its sister satellite, GOES-16, in orbit. GOES-16 has already proved vital in forecasting and is a dramatic improvement of weather forecasting speed, accuracy and detail over the previous generation of satellites.

"Our team understands the important mission of this national asset especially after the year of severe weather that our country experienced," said Tim Gasparrini, vice president and GOES-R Series program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems. "Progress continues with this second satellite in the series and we're focused on performing the final tests and readying the satellite for a successful launch."

The second of four next-generation geostationary weather satellites, GOES-S will be positioned over the West Coast at 137 degrees west longitude once operational. The data from the whole constellation will support short-term weather forecasts and severe storm warnings, maritime forecasts, seasonal predictions, drought outlooks and space weather predictions. Additionally, the technology will improve hurricane tracking and intensity forecasts, and increase thunderstorm and tornado warning lead time.

Lockheed Martin designed, built and tested the satellite and is responsible for spacecraft launch processing. GOES-S will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance (http://www.ulalaunch.com/) Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. In addition to all four GOES-R Series satellites (R, S, T and U), Lockheed Martin also designed and built the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI (http://www.goes-r.gov/spacesegment/suvi.html)) and the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM (http://www.goes-r.gov/spacesegment/glm.html)) instruments that will fly aboard each spacecraft.

NOAA (http://www.noaa.gov/) funds, manages, and will operate the GOES-R Series satellites. NASA oversees the acquisition and development of the GOES-R Series spacecraft and instruments for NOAA. The program is co-located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html) in Greenbelt, Maryland.
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ЦитироватьInside KSC! for Dec. 8, 2017

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220298.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKennedy) NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 8 дек. 2017 г.

NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S, or GOES-S, arrived Monday and was transported to the Astrotech Space Operations facility near Kennedy Space Center where it will be prepared for its scheduled launch March 1, 2018. On center, Kennedy workers enjoyed refreshments and exchanged holiday greetings during the 2017 Center Director's Holiday Coffee, a festive annual event hosted by Center Director Bob Cabana.

ЦитироватьGOES-S Countdown to T-Zero, Episode 1: Launch Fever

 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220298.jpg)  (https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKennedy) NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 21 дек. 2017 г.

NOAA's GOES-S spacecraft, the next in a series of advanced weather satellites, arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center aboard a U.S. Air Force C-5 Super Galaxy aircraft. The satellite's arrival at the Florida spaceport, followed by its move into the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility in nearby Titusville, signal the start of the final journey to T-zero. GOES-S is slated to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

ЦитироватьAtlas V to Launch GOES-S

(http://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/images/GOESS_sml_Resized.jpg)

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• Rocket: Atlas V 541
• Mission: Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S)
• Launch Date: Thursday, March 1, 2018
• Launch Time: 5:02 p.m. EST
• Launch Broadcast: Look for how you can watch live
• Launch Location: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
  

Mission Description: GOES-S is the second of four satellites to be launched for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in a new and advanced series of spacecraft. Once in geostationary orbit, it will be known as GOES-17. Like the other satellites in the series, GOES-S carries a suite of sophisticated Earth-sensing, lightning-detecting, solar imaging and space weather monitoring instruments. The advanced technology on board GOES-S will provide critical data and imagery in near-real time on severe weather events such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and flash floods, as well as hazards like fog, aerosols, dust storms, volcanic eruptions and forest fires.

Launch Notes: ULA and our heritage rockets have launched all of the operational GOES satellites, including GOES-R in November 2016. GOES-S marks the sixth Atlas V to launch in the 541 configuration, the first of which was the rocket that launched NASA's Curiosity rover to Mars in 2011.

Launch Updates: To keep up to speed with updates to the launch countdown, dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321 or join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch (https://www.facebook.com/ulalaunch), twitter.com/ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) and instagram.com/ulalaunch (https://instagram.com/ulalaunch); hashtags #AtlasV #GOESS.


Go Atlas! Go Centaur! Go GOES-S!

ЦитироватьNOAA's GOES-S Spacecraft Prepares for Encapsulation

Linda Herridge (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/author/lherridg/)
Posted on January 16, 2018

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130797.jpg)
NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite is prepared for encapsulation in its payload fairing inside Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Technicians and engineers prepare NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S, or GOES-S, for encapsulation in its payload fairing inside a clean room at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. After encapsulation, the weather satellite will be moved to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series – consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft – will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

ЦитироватьAtlas V Booster, Centaur Arrive for GOES-S

Anna Heiney (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/author/aheiney/)
Posted Jan 26, 2018 at 12:30 pm

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130794.jpg) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/wp-content/uploads/sites/280/2018/01/goes-s_ac_marinerunload.jpg)
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster and Centaur stage for NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) are offloaded from the Mariner transport ship at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster and Centaur stage for NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) arrived this week at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Спойлер

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130795.jpg) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/wp-content/uploads/sites/280/2018/01/goes-s_booster_asoc.jpg)
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster for NOAA's GOES-S mission arrives at the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center near Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

The Mariner transport ship delivered the components to the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Atlas V booster was moved to the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center near Space Launch Complex 41; the Centaur was taken to the Delta Operations Center.

GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The satellite is slated to launch aboard the Atlas V rocket March 1.

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ЦитироватьCentaur Upper Stage Arrives at Delta Operations Center

Anna Heiney (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/author/aheiney/)
Posted Jan 29, 2018 at 1:35 pm

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130796.jpg) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/wp-content/uploads/sites/280/2018/01/GOES-S-Centaur-DOC.jpg)
Under the watchful eyes of technicians and engineers, the Centaur upper stage that will help launch NOAA's GOES-S spacecraft is lifted from its transporter inside the Delta Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Centaur upper stage, part of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will help launch NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S, is in place for prelaunch processing. The Centaur arrived at the Delta Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Jan. 24, two days after its delivery by ship to nearby Port Canaveral.

GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series – consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft – will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch aboard the Atlas V rocket March 1.

ЦитироватьAtlas V First Stage Lifted Vertical at Space Launch Complex 41 for GOES-S Mission

Linda Herridge (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/author/lherridg/)
Posted Feb 7, 2018 at 2:33 pm

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130799.jpg)
Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage was lifted by crane into the Vertical Integration Facility on Jan. 31, 2018, at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket will be positioned on its launcher to boost NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-S).

The satellite is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites that will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018, aboard the Atlas V rocket.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186276.jpg)NOAA Satellites‏Verified account @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) 18h ago (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/961297465319350272)

The #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) #GOES17 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES17?src=hash) team is preparing for launch on March 1st from @NASA (https://twitter.com/NASA) Kennedy, the first stage booster on the @ULALaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) Atlas V is now on the stand at the Vertical Integration Facility and the the propellant loading process is complete! More photos: https://goo.gl/9jZ6xy  (https://t.co/LybQz74VXZ)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/173399.jpg)

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ЦитироватьNASA gears up for brisk launch pace, starting with weather satellite
February 14, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143947.jpg)
The first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket set to launch NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite was lifted atop its mobile launch platform Jan. 31 inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Engineers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center tasked with overseeing launches of scientific satellites and interplanetary probes will be responsible later this year for ensuring six major missions safely get into space over a span of a little more than six months, beginning with the launch of NOAA's new GOES-S weather observatory on an Atlas 5 rocket March 1.

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Preparations for the first mission of NASA's 2018 launch campaign are well underway at Cape Canaveral.

The build-up of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket assigned to launch the GOES-S weather satellite began Jan. 31 inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad. Technicians at the vertical rocket assembly hangar then began installing the Atlas 5's four strap-on solid rocket boosters and Centaur upper stage, which will fire its RL10 engine three times to deploy the GOES-S payload on a track leading to its planned operating perch nearly 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) over the equator.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143954.jpg)
The Centaur upper stage for the Atlas 5 rocket that will launch NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite is pictured inside the Delta Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station last month. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The GOES-S weather satellite, featuring improved imaging capabilities to give forecasters more detailed and more timely views of hurricanes and severe storms, will be added on top of the Atlas 5 rocket Feb. 16. Built by Lockheed Martin, GOES-S is set to join a sister satellite named GOES-16 launched in November 2016.

Liftoff of the 11,500-pound (5,200-kilogram) GOES-S satellite is scheduled for March 1 during a two-hour window opening at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT).

Once launched, NOAA will rename GOES-S as GOES-17, and the new observatory will enter service by the end of the year to cover the Pacific Ocean and the Western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. The GOES-16 satellite began regular weather observations in December after a year-long test campaign, watching the Eastern United States and hurricane zones in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

The new GOES-R satellite series, which includes two more spacecraft set for launch in 2020 and 2024, replace NOAA's aging weather sentinels in geostationary orbit.

"When it launches March 1 and becomes operational later this year, GOES-S will see the west in true high-definition, and along with the remaining satellites in our GOES-R series, will extend the life of NOAA's geostationary satellite constellation through 2036," said Tim Walsh, acting director of NOAA's GOES-R program.

"GOES-S, our latest and greatest, will complete the implementation of high-resolution coverage of the entire country, delivering better observations faster than ever before," said Joe Pica, director of the National Weather Service's office of observations. "GOES-S will become GOES-West and keep an eye on the weather patterns that impact the West."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143930.jpg)
The GOES-S weather satellite in a clean room at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67521.jpg)Stephen Clark‏ @StephenClark1 (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1) 3m ago (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/964516807490011136)

ULA is capping assembly of an Atlas 5 rocket today at the Cape, preparing for March 1 launch with NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg) (https://twitter.com/torybruno) Tory Bruno‏Verified account @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 2h ago (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/964494746201698305)

#GOES (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES?src=hash)-S has arrived safely at the VIF. Wnds are mild, no rain, no lightning. Hoist ops commencing

ЦитироватьGOES-S weather observatory hoisted atop Atlas 5 rocket
February 16, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143962.jpg)
NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NOAA's next geostationary weather satellite, GOES-S, was raised on top of an Atlas 5 launcher Friday at Cape Canaveral in preparation for liftoff March 1 to keep watch over the Pacific Ocean and the Western United States.

Fully fueled for a planned 15-year mission in space, the roughly 11,500-pound (5,200-kilogram) GOES-S spacecraft arrived at the base of the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad early Friday after a road trip fr om the nearby Astrotech satellite processing facility in Titusville, Florida.

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Cranes hoisted the satellite, already encapsulated inside the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5's Swiss-built nose cone, atop the two-stage rocket inside the vertical hangar, a NASA spokesperson said.

The addition of the GOES-S satellite completes assembly of the Atlas 5 rocket. Ground crews began stacking the rocket Jan. 31 with the mounting of the Atlas 5's first stage on a mobile platform inside the VIF, then added four solid rocket boosters and a Centaur upper stage cocooned inside the payload fairing's lower section.

ULA technicians accomplished a combined systems test after assembling the major components of the rocket, and further testing of electrical interfaces between the Atlas 5 and the GOES-S satellite are planned next week.

A launch readiness review Feb. 27 will give approval to roll the Atlas 5 rocket from the VIF to the launch pad, assuming all launcher, spacecraft, range and ground systems are ready. The rollout is scheduled for the morning of Feb. 28, followed by filling of the Atlas 5's first stage with RP-1 kerosene fuel.

The ULA launch team will load super-cold liquid oxygen into the first stage, and a liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen mixture into the Centaur upper stage, during the March 1 countdown. The two-hour launch window opens at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT).

The Atlas 5 rocket will deploy the GOES-S satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit more than three hours after liftoff. The Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft will maneuver into a circular geostationary orbit a few weeks later, taking position nearly 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) over the equator, wh ere its velocity will match Earth's rotation, giving its weather instruments an uninterrupted view of same segment of the planet.

GOES-S will be renamed GOES-17 after launch, joining a sister satellite named GOES-16 that launched in November 2016, also aboard an Atlas 5 rocket.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143929.jpg)
File photo of the GOES-R satellite, the predecessor to GOES-S, being lifted atop its Atlas 5 rocket before launch in November 2016. Credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

After several months of in-orbit testing, NOAA will take control of the satellite and press it into service at 137 degrees west longitude to cover the Pacific Ocean and the Western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

The GOES-16 satellite began regular weather observations in December after a year-long test campaign, watching the Eastern United States and hurricane zones in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

The new GOES-R satellite series, which includes two more spacecraft set for launch in 2020 and 2024, replace NOAA's aging weather sentinels in geostationary orbit.

"When it launches March 1 and becomes operational later this year, GOES-S will see the west in true high-definition, and along with the remaining satellites in our GOES-R series, will extend the life of NOAA's geostationary satellite constellation through 2036," said Tim Walsh, acting director of NOAA's GOES-R program.

Once both operational, GOES-16 and GOES-17 — known as GOES-R and GOES-S before their launch — will give weather forecasters an enhanced view of weather patterns across the Western Hemisphere, from New Zealand, across the Americas to West Africa, and almost from pole to pole.

The upgraded GOES satellites provide higher-resolution imagery with an advanced imaging camera that can help forecasters distinguish between clouds, snow cover, fog, smoke and volcanic ash in the atmosphere. The new GOES satellites will return imagery up to five times more often than NOAA's previous meteorological observers in geostationary orbit.

"These satellites are giving us the ability to look at storms as often as every 30 seconds, allowing forecasters to see storms as they're developing instead of as they've already happened," Walsh said.

Forecasters will use the new satellites to help track hurricanes, severe storms, lightning strikes, wildfires, volcanic eruptions and ground fog.

The GOES-16 satellite covering the U.S. East Coast and Atlantic Ocean is already proving its value, NOAA officials said.

"For many decades, NOAA satellites have been the backbone of our weather and climate forecasts, but as we've already seen with GOES-16, the GOES-R series is a quantum leap above any of its predecessors," said Ajay Mehta, acting deputy assistant administrator for systems at NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service.

"GOES-16, even beyond its spectacular imagery, is already proving to be a game-changer with much more refined, higher quality data for faster and more accurate weather forecasts and warnings," Mehta said in a conference call with reporters earlier this month. "This means more lives are saved and better environmental intelligence for state and local officials, who, for example, may need to make decisions about when to call for evacuations ahead of life-threatening wildfires."

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Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Verified account @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 10h ago (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/966074405200842759)

Rocket science in action! SRBs were mated to the @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #atlasv (https://twitter.com/hashtag/atlasv?src=hash) first stage, Centaur upper stage was hoisted into place at SLC-41 and @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) was encapsulated in its payload fairing. We are closing in on T-0 just over one week away!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/173823.jpg)

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ЦитироватьFive Reasons GOES-S will be a Game-Changer for Weather Forecasts in the Western U.S.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Excitement is building for the launch of GOES-S. On March 1, 2018, NOAA's newest geostationary satellite will launch into space fr om Cape Canaveral, Florida. GOES-S (which will become GOES-17 once it reaches its final orbit) will significantly enhance weather forecasting capabilities across the western United States, Alaska, and Hawaii and provide critical data and imagery of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean extending all the way to New Zealand. Here are five reasons why GOES-S will be such a game-changer for weather forecasts fr om California to Alaska and beyond.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209294.jpg)
This graphic shows coverage of the Western Hemisphere by GOES-East and GOES-West. (NOAA)

1. Better, faster data means more reliable forecasts

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You may not realize it when you check your favorite weather website or smartphone app for a forecast in, say, San Francisco or Las Vegas, but weather forecasts in the western U.S. are overdue for an upgrade. A reliable forecast - whether it's for sunny skies, or a serious hazard such as flash floods or tropical cyclones - requires accurate and timely data, and that's where weather satellites like GOES-S come into play.

Our ability to see weather forming over the Pacific Ocean has been hampered by a lack of high-quality data. Data coverage is sparse over the northeastern Pacific, where many weather systems that affect the continental U.S. are born. The improved technology aboard GOES-S will provide valuable new data about upper level wind conditions. This data then gets fed into computer models used by forecasters at the National Weather Service.

Like GOES-16 (now NOAA's GOES East satellite), GOES-S will collect three times more data at four times better resolution, and scan the Earth five times faster than previous geostationary satellites over western North America, providing far more information to the models used to make those five-day forecasts we're so familiar with.

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2. Tracking Wildfires

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209290.jpg)
GOES-16 GeoColor and fire temperature RGB (red-green-blue) imagery of the wildfires raging in California on October 9, 2017. (Credit: CIRA)

The arid climate of the western United States makes the region especially vulnerable to wildfires. In 2017, several catastrophic wildfires in California burned more than one million acres of land across the state.

Thanks to high-resolution imagery from GOES-16, including red-green-blue thermal infrared imagery used to detect fire hot spots, forecasters at the National Weather Service were able to locate fires more quickly, and coordinate warnings with local emergency managers that helped save lives. In some cases, satellite imagery helped detect fires before 911 calls began to come in. GOES-S will provide a "second set of eyes" over the western U.S., and provide new wildfire monitoring capabilities wh ere it is currently lacking, especially in Alaska.

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3. Monitoring 'Atmospheric Rivers' and Pacific Tropical Cyclones

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If you live on the West Coast, you may have heard the term "atmospheric river" or the "pineapple express." Like rivers in the sky, these narrow conveyor belts of moisture transport huge amounts of water vapor from the subtropics to the west coast of the continental U.S. Strong atmospheric rivers can deliver enormous amounts of rain and high-elevation snow in California and the Pacific Northwest, especially during the winter months.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209285.jpg)
GOES-16 imagery of Hurricane Harvey making landfall in Texas on August 25, 2017. (NOAA)

Like GOES-16, which provided groundbreaking new data and imagery during the severe 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, GOES-S will bring this same new technology to the Pacific Ocean. This means forecasters will have new high-resolution imagery of atmospheric rivers, as well as Pacific hurricanes that track toward Hawaii or Mexico during the summer and autumn.

GOES-S will be equipped with an infrared channel that helps forecasters monitor cloud top temperatures, which are used to predict rainfall intensity and the potential for flash flooding or thunderstorms. The Advanced Baseline Imager on GOES-S will have three water vapor bands, two more than GOES-15, NOAA's current geostationary satellite over the Pacific. These additional channels will provide high resolution imagery of atmospheric water vapor, allowing forecasters to track the movement of major storms and pinpoint areas that will receive the heaviest precipitation.

GOES-S will also have the capability of collecting one-minute imagery over tropical cyclones, which can help forecasters better locate a storm's center of circulation. In addition, the satellite's Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) will provide forecasters with near real-time data on a storm's lightning activity, helping them identify the most convectively active portions of the storm.

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4. Fog Detection

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209291.jpg)
(NOAA)

You don't have to live on the West Coast to know that coastal fog is a hallmark weather event in places like San Francisco and parts of the Pacific Northwest. Not only will GOES-S provide high-resolution, real-time imagery of fog conditions, but the satellite's rapid scanning capabilities will also help forecasters predict when fog will clear.

If you're a frequent flyer, you've probably run into a few travel headaches because fog or low stratus clouds grounded your flight.

Luckily, NOAA's GOES satellites can help mitigate flight delays. In March 2017, data and imagery from GOES-16 helped air traffic controllers at San Francisco International Airport lift a ground delay due to fog. Forecasters were able to use the satellite's high-resolution imagery to predict when the fog would start to erode, a decision that freed up 32 flights, prevented more than 20 hours of flight delays, and saved the airlines nearly $100,000. Fog monitoring from GOES-S will also improve forecasts used by the maritime sector, such the fishing and commercial shipping industries.

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5. Special mention: A major upgrade for Alaska

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209286.jpg)
Current geostationary satellite coverage of Alaska, such as this recent GOES-15 visible imagery, will be replaced by high-resolution imagery in 16 different channels. (NOAA)

GOES-S will boost weather prediction all across the western U.S., but the new satellite will be especially valuable to Alaska. That's because NOAA's current geostationary satellites lack sufficient resolution in regions near the Arctic. GOES-S, however, will provide a significantly clearer view of the Last Frontier - all the way to Alaska's North Slope, and allow for applications such as tracking sea ice.

This vast new coverage will revolutionize forecasting in Alaska. For example, thanks to combinable image channels on GOES-S (known as "multispectral imagery"), forecasters will be able to distinguish between clouds, snow-covered ground, and sea ice around Alaska's coasts. This will improve aviation and shipping forecasts, since current GOES visible satellite imagery can't easily differentiate clouds and snow - a particular challenge during Alaska's long, dark winter months.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209295.jpg)
Alaska's Pavlof Volcano erupting on March 16, 2016.
(Image credit: Nahshon Almandmoss/U.S. Coast Guard)

Like its sister satellite, GOES-16, GOES-S will be able to detect hazards often experienced in Alaska, such as wildfires and volcanic ash. Monitoring wildfires using satellite data and imagery will save property and lives, while volcanic ash detection will make air travel significantly safer in a state wh ere flying is the only mode of transport in many remote areas.

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ЦитироватьULA Atlas V Rocket, NOAA's GOES-S Satellite Together for Launch

Anna Heiney (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/author/aheiney/)
Posted Feb 21, 2018 at 12:42 pm

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130800.jpg) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/wp-content/uploads/sites/280/2018/02/KSC-20180207-PH_KLS01_0233.jpg)
In a clean room at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers monitor progress as NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S, or GOES-S, is encapsulated in its payload fairing. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

With its March 1 launch date closing in, the next in a series of advanced geostationary weather satellites is in place for liftoff.

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130801.jpg) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/wp-content/uploads/sites/280/2018/02/KSC-20180208-PH_KLS01_0052.jpg)
The Centaur upper stage that will help launch NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S, or GOES-S, arrives at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-S) will be delivered to orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket fr om Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

With the Atlas V booster already in place, teams recently attached four solid rocket boosters and lifted the Centaur upper stage into place. Finally, the GOES-S satellite, secured inside the Atlas V payload fairing, moved from its processing location at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville to the launch complex, wh ere it was carefully raised into position atop the assembled rocket.

GOES-S is the second in NOAA's GOES-R series of satellites. All are designed to significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity.

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Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Verified account @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 13h ago (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/966427379026538497)

Launch window open times in GMT for #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) change either not at all or by only a minute from day to day. On Sunday, March 11, Florida goes on Daylight Savings Times and so, for that day only, the local launch time would be an hour later than the previous day

ЦитироватьUpcoming Events (All Times Eastern)

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• 1 p.m., Tuesday, February 27 - GOES-S Pre-Launch News Briefing from Kennedy Space Center (all channels)
  
  
• 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 27 - GOES-S Science Briefing from Kennedy Space Center (NTV-3 (Media))
  
  
• 4:30 p.m., Thursday, March 1 - GOES-S Launch Coverage - Kennedy Space Center (launch window opens at 5:02 p.m.) (all channels)
  

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186276.jpg)NOAA Satellites‏Подлинная учетная запись @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) 16 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/967075493026680832)

We are going LIVE with @NOAA (https://twitter.com/NOAA) @NASA (https://twitter.com/NASA) TODAY @ 2 PM EST on Facebook! Get your Q's A'd about the #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) (#GOES17 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES17?src=hash)) satellite and what the future of forecasting will look like when High Definition GOES West! Click here to catch the LIVE experience http://bit.ly/2EJHrsV  (https://t.co/DC6wc1BimG)
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Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186276.jpg)NOAA Satellites‏Подлинная учетная запись @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) 21 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/966768118407356416)

The payload fairing containing NOAA's #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) (#GOES17 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES17?src=hash)) is lowered by crane onto the @ULALaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) rocket in the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral AFS. The fairing was secured to the rocket in preparation for launch on March 1. https://goo.gl/rQQNTc  (https://t.co/E5xO2IqgmG)
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The U.S. will soon have two of the most advanced weather satellites ever, operating in tandem. On Thursday, March 1, NASA will launch NOAA's newest weather satellite, GOES-S, the second of NOAA's new series of geostationary weather satellites. This dynamic duo will provide unprecedented coverage across the entire U.S. and most of the Western Hemisphere.

Join Jamese Sims of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (https://www.facebook.com/NOAA/?fref=mentions) and Joel McCorkel of NASA to learn how GOES-S and the NOAA Satellite and Information Service (https://www.facebook.com/NOAASatellites/?fref=mentions) will help forecasters predict and emergency officials plan for future extreme weather and natural disasters.

https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t42.9040-29/10000000_199158457345614_5478652569016336384_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjg3NiwicmxhIjo0MDk2LCJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6InNkIn0%3D&rl=876&vabr=487&oh=13ec9be832d1a52ddfc5bfb0f2a63997&oe=5A9095FC (https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t42.9040-29/10000000_199158457345614_5478652569016336384_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjg3NiwicmxhIjo0MDk2LCJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6InNkIn0%3D&rl=876&vabr=487&oh=13ec9be832d1a52ddfc5bfb0f2a63997&oe=5A9095FC) (27:15)
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Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 8 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/967182376798310401)

Flight Readiness Review complete. On track. #GOES (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES?src=hash)

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[/li]
• Launch Date: Thursday, March 1, 2018
• Launch Time: The 2-hour launch window opens at 5:02 p.m. EST
• Live Broadcast: Tune in live on March 1 beginning at 4:30 p.m. EST
  

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 8 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/967178401382653952)

#FF (https://twitter.com/hashtag/FF?src=hash) for #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125513.png) launch happening Thursday, March 1!
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@NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP)
@ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch)
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https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/lists/GOES-S-launch ... (https://t.co/6QTnE0fBB7)

https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/DWwbUPTWsAAplO-.mp4 (https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/DWwbUPTWsAAplO-.mp4)
(video (https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/DWwbUPTWsAAplO-.mp4))

ЦитироватьFeb. 20, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-035

NASA Television Coverage Set for Weather Satellite Science Briefing, Launch

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/207741.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/goes-r-rendering.jpg)
The launch of NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) is scheduled for March 1 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA oversees the acquisition of the spacecraft, instruments and launch vehicles for the GOES-R Series program.
Credits: Lockheed Martin

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) newest weather satellite, Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S (https://www.goes-r.gov/)), is scheduled to launch Thursday, March 1. The launch, as well as prelaunch and science briefings on Tuesday, Feb. 27, will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website (https://www.nasa.gov/live).

At 5:02 p.m. March 1, a two-hour launch window will open, during which GOES-S will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida. Launch coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m.

Спойлер

GOES-S is the second in the GOES-R Series (https://www.goes-r.gov/) of weather satellites that includes GOES-R (now GOES-16), -S, -T and -U. The satellite will be renamed GOES-17 when it reaches geostationary orbit. Once the satellite is declared operational, late this year, it will occupy NOAA's GOES-West position and provide faster, more accurate data for tracking wildfires, tropical cyclones, fog and other storm systems and hazards that threaten the western United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, Mexico, Central America and the Pacific Ocean, all the way to New Zealand.

[свернуть]

\
Prelaunch and Science Briefings

NASA TV will air two GOES-S news briefings on Feb. 27 from the Press Site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The prelaunch news conference will be held at 1 p.m. Participants will be:

Спойлер

[/li]
• Stephen Volz, director for satellite and information services at NOAA
• Tim Walsh, acting GOES-R system program director at NOAA
• Sandra Smalley, director of NASA's Joint Agency Satellite Division
• Tim Dunn, launch director at Kennedy
• Scott Messer, flight director at United Launch Alliance
• Clay Flinn, launch weather officer for the 45th Weather Squadron at CCAFS
  

[свернуть]

The prelaunch news conference will be followed at 2:30 p.m. by a science briefing. Participants will be:

Спойлер

[/li]
• Dan Lindsey, GOES-R senior scientific advisor at NOAA
• Louis Uccellini, director of the National Weather Service at NOAA
• George Morrow, deputy director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
• Jim Roberts, scientist with the Earth System Research Laboratory of NOAA's Office of Atmospheric Research
• Kristin Calhoun, research scientist with NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory
  

[свернуть]

Media can ask questions during the briefings via Twitter, using the hashtag #askNASA.

There is no planned post-launch news conference.

...
Last Updated: Feb. 20, 2018
Editor: Karen Northon

Цитировать10 a.m., Wednesday, February 28 - NASA Edge Coverage of the GOES-S Rollout (NTV-1 (Public))

ЦитироватьPhotos: Atlas 5 rocket and GOES-S weather satellite assembled for launch
February 26, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

Technicians around Cape Canaveral spent the last four weeks assembling a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket and preparing a Lockheed Martin-built NOAA weather satellite for liftoff March 1.

Спойлер

The photos on this page show the Atlas 5's first stage, powered by a Russian-made RD-180 engine, being lifted atop a mobile platform inside ULA's Vertical Integration Facility at the Florida spaceport Jan. 31. Four strap-on Aerojet Rocketdyne solid rocket boosters were later added, along with the Atlas 5's hydrogen-fueled Centaur upper stage.

In parallel with the rocket preparations, a team of engineers and technicians at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville tested and fueled the GOES-S weather satellite set for launch on the Atlas 5. Ground crews then installed the GOES-S spacecraft on a payload attach fitting, then encapsulated the satellite inside the Atlas 5's Swiss-made payload fairing.

Teams then transported the GOES-S weather satellite and its payload shroud fr om the Astrotech facility to the Vertical Integration Facility, wh ere they were hoisted atop the Atlas 5 on Feb. 16.

The Atlas 5 rocket is set for launch Thursday, March 1, during a two-hour window opening at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT).

The Atlas 5 rocket will fly in the "541" configuration with four solid rocket boosters and a five-meter (17-foot) diameter fairing. The Atlas 5-541 version has flown five times before, including three missions for the National Reconnaissance Office, one with NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, and another with the GOES-R weather observatory, a predecessor to the GOES-S satellite launching this week.

The GOES-S satellite, to be renamed GOES-17 once in orbit, will be stationed more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over Earth's equator. Its coverage zone will include the western United States, Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143959.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143965.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143958.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143932.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143931.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143957.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143956.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143946.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143955.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143970.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143969.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143961.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143950.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143960.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143951.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143935.jpg)Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143940.jpg)Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143939.jpg)Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143967.jpg)Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143938.jpg)Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143937.jpg)Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143945.jpg)Credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143934.jpg)Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143968.jpg)Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143974.jpg)Credit: NASA/Bill White

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143973.jpg)Credit: NASA/Bill White

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143972.jpg)Credit: NASA/Bill White

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143952.jpg)Credit: NASA/Bill White

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143971.jpg)Credit: NASA/Bill White

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143943.jpg)Credit: NASA/Bill White

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143977.jpg)Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143942.jpg)Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143976.jpg)Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143941.jpg)Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143975.jpg)Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьNAVAREA IV 167/2018 (11,25,26)  

WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   012202Z TO 020036Z MAR, ALTERNATE
   022201Z TO 030035Z MAR
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39N 080-39W, 28-42N 080-34W,
   28-35N 079-42W, 28-31N 078-58W,
   28-23N 078-59W, 28-31N 080-35W.
   B. 27-16N 069-40W, 26-44N 066-30W,
   26-31N 066-34W, 27-01N 069-44W.
   C. 22-50N 051-15W, 22-05N 048-53W,
   21-54N 048-57W, 22-39N 051-19W.
2.  CANCEL THIS MSG 030135Z MAR 18.

( 260926Z FEB 2018 )

ЦитироватьCape Canaveral could see two launches in one day Thursday
February 27, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143927.jpg)
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad. Credit: SpaceX

Two launch pads at Cape Canaveral could host a pair of satellite launches separated by fewer than 17 hours Thursday, a rapid-fire turnaround made possible by an automated range safety mechanism and other upgrades to cut the time between missions at the Florida spaceport.

A spokesperson for Hispasat, which owns a communications satellite set for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, told Spaceflight Now on Monday that the mission is scheduled for liftoff shortly after midnight Thursday, Florida time.

The Falcon 9's two-hour launch window opens at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT) Wednesday, pending final approval from the U.S. Air Force's 45th Space Wing, which runs the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral, a network of communications, tracking and safety installations used by every launch from Florida's Space Coast.

Assuming Air Force officials grant SpaceX's request for a launch date Wednesday, it would be the first of two blastoffs from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a span of around 16-and-a-half hours.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is on track for launch Thursday during a two-hour launch window beginning at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT).

Спойлер

The Falcon 9 and Atlas 5 rockets will blast off from Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 and Complex 41 launch pads, two former Titan rocket launch facilities built in the 1960s a mile-and-a-half (2.4 kilometers) apart a few thousand feet from the Atlantic coastline.

The payload aboard the Falcon 9 rocket is Hispasat 30W-6, a Spanish-owned commercial video, data and broadband relay satellite heading for a perch in geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator.

Built by SSL in Palo Alto, California, Hispasat 30W-6 will replace an aging telecom satellite launched from Cape Canaveral in September 2002 aboard an Atlas 2AS booster.

[свернуть]

SpaceX officials delayed the launch of Hispasat 30W-6, previously scheduled for early Sunday, to complete additional inspections on a pressurization system on the Falcon 9 rocket's payload fairing.

The Atlas 5 mission, which has had its March 1 reservation on the Air Force range for months, is set to deploy NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite, an advanced, new-generation observatory destined to help forecasters track storms and wildfires across the western United States and the Pacific Ocean.

The range typically operates on a first-come, first-served basis, so if Air Force officials find a scheduling conflict between the missions, the Atlas 5 launch is expected to receive priority.

Спойлер

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143975.jpg)
A view of the Atlas 5 rocket and the GOES-S weather satellite inside the Vertical Integration Facility at the Complex 41 launch pad. Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

Ground crews are set to roll out the Atlas 5 rocket to its launch pad Wednesday morning, followed by filling of the first stage's RP-1 kerosene fuel tank in the afternoon. The countdown will commence Thursday morning.

The Falcon 9 slated to launch with Hispasat 30W-6 completed a hold-down test-firing of its nine Merlin main engines last week. Technicians returned the rocket to its hangar to install the Hispasat telecom satellite and payload fairing. The next step before launch is to return the booster to the launch pad for final countdown preps.

The quick turnaround is primarily enabled by the introduction of an autonomous self-destruct mechanism to SpaceX's Falcon rockets, an addition that cuts the workload and manpower for each launch from the Air Force and its contractors.

The on-board safety system relies on Global Positioning System satellite navigation data, replacing decades-old radars and tracking equipment that required military officers to manually send commands to destroy errant boosters, and their human and robot passengers, before they could threaten people and property.

The switch is expected to save millions of dollars in infrastructure costs and allow for more launches from Air Force-run ranges at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base, officials said.

The Autonomous Flight Safety System became operational on SpaceX's Falcon rocket family last year, after several flights in a backup "shadow" mode to allow engineers to check its performance and reliability.

"Implementing AFSS on future launch operations allows us to increase our flexibility, adaptability and efficiency while providing more launch opportunities and greater public safety without having to add additional people," said Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, commander of the Air Force's 45th Space Wing, in a statement last year. "These changes will not only simplify ground support requirements thereby increasing launch on-time probability, but substantially reduce launch costs."

Like the manual flight termination system used since the dawn of the Space Age, the on-board safety computer tracks the trajectory of the rocket, ensuring it remains within a predefined corridor and meets other parameters.

With the previous safety system, a Mission Flight Control Officer on the ground in Florida or California would issue the command activate pyrotechnic charges on the rocket if it strayed off course. In the case of the automated safety system, the command comes from a computer aboard the rocket.

The military is still responsible for other support functions for launches from Florida and California, such as weather monitoring, maritime and airspace patrols, and base security.

Air Force and industry officials last year heralded the new automated destruct system, saying that the technology would permit launches from different pads at Cape Canaveral on the same day, an improvement over the minimum 48-hour resets practiced in recent decades.

That claim may become reality this week.

Assuming Air Force managers give their blessing for the back-to-back launches, and if both rockets take off as scheduled, it would be the quickest turnaround between liftoffs at Cape Canaveral since September 1967.

A Delta G booster launched the Biosat 2 recoverable satellite with multiple biological research experiments on the evening of Sept. 7, 1967, followed less than 10 hours later by the blastoff a few miles away of NASA's robotic Surveyor 5 lunar lander aboard an Atlas-Centaur rocket, according to a mission log maintained by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks global space activity.

Rockets lifted off from Cape Canaveral less than two hours apart on four occasions in 1966.

Unpiloted Agena vehicles launched by Atlas rockets were used as docking targets for NASA's two-man Gemini capsules. The Agena targets launched approximately 100 minutes before the Gemini spacecraft took off on top of Titan 2 rockets with two astronauts on-board.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьGOES-S Prelaunch Briefings Today

Linda Herridge (https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/author/lherridg/)
Posted Feb 27, 2018 at 12:11 pm

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130798.jpg)

With only two days remaining until the scheduled launch of NOAA's GOES-S satellite, launch and mission managers are gathering at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to provide briefings on launch status and the science aspects of the GOES-R series of advanced weather satellites. A prelaunch status briefing will be held at 1 p.m., followed by a science briefing at 2:30 p.m. Both briefings will be held at Kennedy's Press Site TV Auditorium and air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Prelaunch news conference participants are:

[/li]
• Stephen Volz, director for satellite and information services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• Tim Walsh, GOES-R system program director (acting), NOAA
• Sandra Smalley, director, Joint Agency Satellite Division, NASA Headquarters
• Tim Dunn, launch director, NASA, Kennedy Space Center
• Scott Messer, program manager, NASA Programs, United Launch Alliance
• Kathy Winters, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
  

Science briefing participants are:

[/li]
• Dan Lindsey, GOES-R senior scientific advisor, NOAA
• Louis Uccellini, director, National Weather Service, NOAA
• George Morrow, deputy director, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Jim Roberts, scientist, Earth System Research Laboratory, Office of Atmospheric Research, NOAA
• Kristin Calhoun, research scientist, National Severe Storms Laboratory, NOAA
  

Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing are predicting an 80 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NOAA's GOES-S satellite. Launch is scheduled for March 1 at 5:02 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. On launch day, the primary weather concern is cumulus clouds.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg)Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 11 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/968556057604829190)

Col. Walt Jackim, vice commander of the 45th Space Wing, says at a 45th Space Congress talk a goal for the Eastern Range is to perform two launches in 24 hours. That could happen this week, with Falcon 9/Hispasat 30W-6 and Atlas 5/GOES-S

10 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/968556320902336513)

Jackim said later a final decision hasn't been made yet, but he seemed open to doing so various technical, personnel, and other issues can be worked out.

ЦитироватьAtlas 5 launch on track for Thursday, SpaceX mission expected to slip
February 27, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Upd ated at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) and 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) Tuesday.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is set to roll to its launch pad Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, a day before liftoff with a new-generation NOAA weather satellite. The launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a Spanish communications satellite is expected to be shuffled after the Atlas 5 flight in a rapid-fire launch sequence at the Florida spaceport this week.

SpaceX hoped to deliver the Spanish-owned Hispasat 30W-6 communications satellite to orbit from Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad just after midnight Thursday, Florida time, around 16-and-a-half hours before liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from the nearby Complex 41 launch pad.

The back-to-back missions appeared to be on track Monday, but Air Force officials have not approved SpaceX's request to the 45th Space Wing, the military unit that oversees the Eastern Range, a network of communications, tracking and safety installations used by every launch from Florida's Space Coast.

Air Force managers have heralded in recent months a new capability to support rapid turnarounds between launches, thanks to an automated range safety mechanism and other upgrades to the cut the time between missions at the Florida spaceport.

But the Atlas 5 mission with NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite, which has held to its March 1 target launch date for nearly a year, is expected to take priority on the Cape Canaveral launch schedule this week, officials said.

Спойлер

The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) Atlas 5 rocket is se t to roll out of ULA's Vertical Integration Facility around 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) Wednesday for a quarter-mile trip to the nearby Complex 41 launch pad. Once at the pad, the rocket will be connected to ground propellant and electrical supplies, and its first stage will be loaded with RP-1 kerosene fuel.

The "clean pad" layout at Complex 41 does not offer shelter to the Atlas 5 rocket once its in position on the launch mount, and officials were concerned about exposing the launcher and sensitive optics on its weather satellite payload to exhaust plumes from the Falcon 9 rocket as it blasts off from the nearby Complex 40 launch pad.

Managers also studied whether the Atlas 5 rocket and the GOES-S satellite would be at risk of damage on the pad if the Falcon 9 rocket had a mishap during launch.

SpaceX intended to launch with the Hispasat 30W-6 communications satellite early Sunday, but the company postponed the mission to complete additional inspections on a pressurization system on the Falcon 9 rocket's payload fairing.

"Due to the fact that they didn't launch, they had requested the early morning of March 1 (on the Eastern Range)," said Tim Dunn, NASA's launch director for the GOES-S mission. "We understand that has not been approved by the range, so we're clear for our opportunity on the 1st."

ULA also has a backup launch opportunity on Friday afternoon, if necessary.

"We were doing initial assessments of being in an exposed condition," Dunn said. "Obviously, we need some time to take a look at that to assess all the risks that would be incurred on GOES-S as well as the Atlas 5 rocket. We're not in that condition right now, and we look forward to launch on Thursday afternoon."

The Atlas 5's two-hour launch window opens at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) Thursday.

A new target launch date for the Falcon 9 flight has not been confirmed. The Hispasat mission has a daily launch window that opens at approximately 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT).

Falcon 9 and Atlas 5 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral blast off from two former Titan rocket launch facilities built in the 1960s a mile-and-a-half (2.4 kilometers) apart a few thousand feet from the Atlantic coastline.

The Hispasat 30W-6 communications satellite awaiting launch on the Falcon 9 rocket is a Spanish-owned commercial video, data and broadband relay craft heading for a perch in geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator.

Built by SSL in Palo Alto, California, Hispasat 30W-6 will replace an aging telecom satellite launched from Cape Canaveral in September 2002 aboard an Atlas 2AS booster.

The Atlas 5 mission is se t to deploy NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite, an advanced, new-generation observatory destined to help forecasters track storms and wildfires across the western United States and the Pacific Ocean.

The range typically operates on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Falcon 9 slated to launch with Hispasat 30W-6 completed a hold-down test-firing of its nine Merlin main engines last week. Technicians returned the rocket to its hangar to install the Hispasat telecom satellite and payload fairing. The next step before launch is to return the booster to the launch pad for final countdown preps.

The Air Force says quicker turnarounds between launches from Cape Canaveral will be primarily enabled by the introduction of an autonomous self-destruct mechanism to SpaceX's Falcon rockets, an addition that cuts the workload and manpower for each launch from the Air Force and its contractors.

The on-board safety system relies on Global Positioning System satellite navigation data, replacing decades-old radars and tracking equipment that required military officers to manually send commands to destroy errant boosters, and their human and robot passengers, before they could threaten people and property.

The switch is expected to save millions of dollars in infrastructure costs and allow for more launches from Air Force-run ranges at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base, officials said.

The Autonomous Flight Safety System became operational on SpaceX's Falcon rocket family last year, after several flights in a backup "shadow" mode to allow engineers to check its performance and reliability.

"Implementing AFSS on future launch operations allows us to increase our flexibility, adaptability and efficiency while providing more launch opportunities and greater public safety without having to add additional people," said Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, commander of the Air Force's 45th Space Wing, in a statement last year. "These changes will not only simplify ground support requirements thereby increasing launch on-time probability, but substantially reduce launch costs."

Like the manual flight termination system used since the dawn of the Space Age, the on-board safety computer tracks the trajectory of the rocket, ensuring it remains within a predefined corridor and meets other parameters.

With the previous safety system, a Mission Flight Control Officer on the ground in Florida or California would issue the command activate pyrotechnic charges on the rocket if it strayed off course. In the case of the automated safety system, the command comes from a computer aboard the rocket.

The military is still responsible for other support functions for launches from Florida and California, such as weather monitoring, maritime and airspace patrols, and base security.

Air Force and industry officials last year heralded the new automated destruct system, saying that the technology would permit launches from different pads at Cape Canaveral on the same day, an improvement over the minimum 48-hour resets practiced in recent decades.

Launches on the same day from Florida were somewhat common in the 1960s, and the last time two orbital flights lifted off from Cape Canaveral within a 24-hour span was in April 1978, when an Atlas-Agena D rocket launched with the Aquacade 4 military signals intelligence satellite, followed around 21 hours later by the takeoff of a Delta 2914 booster with the Japanese BSE, or Yuri 1, communications craft, according to a mission log maintained by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks global space activity.

Rockets lifted off from Cape Canaveral less than two hours apart on four occasions in 1966.

Unpiloted Agena vehicles launched by Atlas rockets were used as docking targets for NASA's two-man Gemini capsules. The Agena targets launched approximately 100 minutes before the Gemini spacecraft took off on top of Titan 2 rockets with two astronauts on-board.

[свернуть]

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185659.jpg)James Dean‏Подлинная учетная запись @flatoday_jdean (https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean) 15 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean/status/968598047700725762)

As of now, Eastern Range planning to support only one rocket launch Thursday: Atlas V/GOES-S. SpaceX F9/Hispasat date still TBD.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185967.jpg)NASA_EDGE‏ @NASA_EDGE (https://twitter.com/NASA_EDGE) 8 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_EDGE/status/968527735411892227)

Check out our NASA EDGE: GOES-S Rollout show tomorrow, Wed. Feb. 28 from 10:00-10:30 am EST on NASA TV and Facebook live (http://www.facebook.com/nasaedgefan  (https://t.co/yTzWbzNKkd)). Learn all things about GOES-S with @NOAA (https://twitter.com/NOAA), @NASA (https://twitter.com/NASA) and @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP).
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174143.jpg)

ЦитироватьAtlas V GOES-S Mission Profile

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220286.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedLaunchAlliance) United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 27 февр. 2018 г.

ЦитироватьNOAA GOES-S (GOES-17) - High Definition GOES West!

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220294.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/NOAASatellites) NOAASatellites (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJJqaSw7Z7SD7TM80cViEGg)

Опубликовано: 26 февр. 2018 г.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29898.jpg)ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 25 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/968869106899398662)

Rolling to the launch pad! ULA's #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) rocket will launch the #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) mission for @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) and @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites)! #GOES17 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES17?src=hash)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174187.jpg)

ЦитироватьLive coverage: Atlas 5 rocket rolls to launch pad at Cape Canaveral
February 28, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Atlas 5 rocket with NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. (http://www.twitter.com/spaceflightnow/)

NASA TV's live video coverage of the Atlas 5 launch will begin at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on March 1.

Updated: 02/28/2018 18:52 Stephen Clark

The Atlas 5 rocket has arrived at Complex 41 after a trip from the Vertical Integration Facility. The Atlas 5's mobile platform followed rail tracks leading to the pad as two "trackmobile" vehicles pushed the stack.

Autocouplers will engage to connect the rocket to ground power supplies and other ground systems. Other duties planned by the Atlas 5 team this afternoon include customary post-rollout checks and filling of the first stage with RP-1 kerosene fuel.

(https://24liveblog.tradingfront.cn/event/f77c982c1c9311e8844df23c919295de/20180228155220_870308.jpg?random=1519833139436)

Спойлер

Liquid oxygen will be loaded in the first stage during the countdown tomorrow afternoon, along with liquid hydrogen and liquid hydrogen for the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage.

The latest forecast issued this morning indicates an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions during tomorrow's two-hour launch window, which opens at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT).

The primary weather concerns tomorrow will be with cumulus clouds and ground winds.

"On launch day, the next frontal boundary pushes into the Florida panhandle during the count," meteorologists from the 45th Weather Squadron wrote in a forecast summary this morning. "Relatively dry conditions persist over Central Florida on launch day in advance of the front with a slight threat of an isolated shower with late day diurnal heating. No thunderstorms are expected.

"The pressure gradient tightens and winds begin trending up from the southwest through the day with peaks in the upper teens (230 ft) early in the count and continuing to trend up to the low 20s at the beginning of the window and mid-20s in the window."

Forecasters predict a chance of isolated rain showers, partly cloudy skies, good visibility, and winds from the west-southwest at 22 to 26 knots. The temperature during the launch window will be between 77 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the event of a 24-hour delay, similar conditions are expected behind the front. Friday's forecast also calls for an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather for launch.

The Atlas 5 will haul NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite into orbit, beginning a 15-year mission monitoring storms, fog, wildfires and volcanic eruptions in the western United States, the Pacific Ocean, Mexico and Central America.

[свернуть]

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29898.jpg)ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 12 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/968887674949046273)

The #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) with #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) is in the 541 configuration: 5-meter-diameter payload fairing, 4 solid rocket boosters and a single engine on the Centaur upper stage. It will generate approx 2.25 million pounds of thrust off the pad. #GOESSocial (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESSocial?src=hash)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174202.jpg)

ЦитироватьULA AtlasV 541 Rollout of GOES-S

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220714.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/VossVaughn) Brett Stevens (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77mMFE4ulmPAFz7kwXW-Hg)

Опубликовано: 28 февр. 2018 г.

ЦитироватьNASA TV GOES-S prelaunch briefing Coverage Set for Weather Satellite Science Briefing.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220640.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Iv92nZE21XWt0B1ZTCd6Q) space googlevesaire (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Iv92nZE21XWt0B1ZTCd6Q)

Трансляция началась 23 часа назад

ЦитироватьGOES-S Countdown to T-Zero, Episode 3: Rocket Science

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220298.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKennedy) NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 27 февр. 2018 г.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket reaches another major milestone on the road to T-Zero, as NOAA's GOES-S spacecraft prepares for launch. Stacking the rocket begins with the booster - the largest component - and continues with the addition of four solid rocket motors and the Centaur upper stage. GOES-S, the next in a series of advanced weather satellites, is slated to launch aboard the Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186031.jpg)OLHZN Space Balloons‏ @OLHZN (https://twitter.com/OLHZN) 1 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/OLHZN/status/968900690520223744)

Join us #live (https://twitter.com/hashtag/live?src=hash) tomorrow at 4:30pm EST (21:30 UTC) for the launch of @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) carrying the #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) #GOES17 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES17?src=hash) satellite for @NOAA (https://twitter.com/NOAA). (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125429.png)(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125625.png)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgt67GhVlQA ... (https://t.co/F5Pu6PwLbr)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174179.png)

ЦитироватьGOES R An Animated Tour of a Weather Satellite

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220727.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/vasqwerty75) News Alternative Energy World (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsSFbyo-sSQa9rutQFh5zqQ)

Опубликовано: 28 февр. 2018 г.

A series of four NOAA GOES-R / S / T / U satellites is the next generation of a meteorological orbital constellation providing comprehensive operational climate analysis over the North and South American continents as well as adjacent ocean areas

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186234.jpg)The Franklin Institute‏Подлинная учетная запись @TheFranklin (https://twitter.com/TheFranklin) 43 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/TheFranklin/status/968953045131366401)

Here's @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch)'s Atlas V Spaceflight Operations Center that will manage the launch of the #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) satellite tomorrow. http://bit.ly/2CfIymG  (https://t.co/gw2rxYcyI8) #NASASocial (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASASocial?src=hash) – Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC) (https://twitter.com/search?q=place%3A07d9d537ca886000)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174236.jpg)

ЦитироватьNASA EDGE: GOES S Live Rollout Show

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220728.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAedge) NASA EDGE (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEPgFeclBHqZp80D14J5kfA)

Опубликовано: 28 февр. 2018 г.

NASA EDGE takes a closer look at the GOES-S satellite during rollout to Space Launch Complex 41 on the Atlas V rocket. With guests from NASA and NOAA, NASA EDGE discusses the unique technology and data sets being used by the GOES-R series of Satellites ahead of the launch scheduled for March 1, 2018.

ЦитироватьAtlas 5/GOES-S launch timeline
February 28, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rocket's ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral with the GOES-S weather satellite. Launch is scheduled for Thursday during a two-hour window opening at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT).

The 197-foot-tall rocket will arc to the east from Florida's Space Coast on its second flight of the year. It will be the 76th Atlas 5 launch overall since United Launch Alliance's workhorse rocket debuted in August 2002.

The timeline below ends with the conclusion of the primary mission, the deployment of the GOES-S satellite into an elliptical geostationary transfer orbit.

Спойлер

Follow live coverage of the countdown and launch in our Mission Status Center.

A video overview of the Atlas 5 launch sequence also describes the major milestones on the GOES-S mission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=3Auwwc9BLXE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=3Auwwc9BLXE)

T+0:00:01.1: Liftoff

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144155.jpg)
With the RD-180 main engine running, the Atlas 5 vehicle lifts off and begins a vertical rise away from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

T+0:00:35.2: Mach 1

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144156.jpg)
Riding 2.1 million pounds of thrust from its RD-180 main engine and four solid rocket boosters, the Atlas 5 exceeds the speed of sound.

T+0:00:47.1: Max-Q

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144157.jpg)
The Atlas 5 rocket passes through the region of maximum dynamic pressure during ascent through the lower atmosphere.

T+0:01:50.3: Jettison SRBs

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144164.jpg)
Having burned out of propellant approximately 20 seconds earlier, the four spent Aerojet Rocketdyne-built solid rocket boosters are jettisoned once dynamic pressure conditions are satisfied.

T+0:03:29.9: Nose Cone Jettison

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144154.jpg)
The Atlas 5 rocket's payload fairing, made in Switzerland by Ruag Space, is jettisoned in a clamshell-like fashion once external heating levels drop below predetermined limits after climbing through the dense lower atmosphere. The Forward Load Reactor deck that connected the payload fairing's structure to the Centaur upper stage is released five seconds after the shroud's jettison.

T+0:04:21.9: Main Engine Cutoff

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144153.jpg)
The RD-180 main engine completes its firing after consuming its kerosene and liquid oxygen fuel supply in the Atlas first stage.

T+0:04:27.9: Stage Separation

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144165.jpg)
The Common Core Booster first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket separates from the Centaur upper stage. Over the next few seconds, the Centaur engine liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are readied for ignition.

T+0:04:37.9: Centaur Ignition 1

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144161.jpg)
The Centaur RL10C-1 engine ignites for the first of three upper stage firings. This burn will inject the Centaur stage and GOES-S spacecraft into an initial parking orbit.

T+0:12:11.1: Centaur Cutoff 1

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144158.jpg)
The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in a planned low-Earth parking orbit. The vehicle enters a 10-minute coast period before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.

T+0:22:38.4:  Centaur Ignition 2

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144162.jpg)
The Centaur re-ignites to accelerate the payload into a highly elliptical transfer orbit from the parking altitude achieved earlier in the launch sequence. This burn lasts five-and-a-half minutes.

T+0:28:09.3: Centaur Cutoff 2

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144159.jpg)
The second Centaur firing places the GOES-S satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit stretching more than 20,000 miles above Earth, beginning a three-hour coast period for the mission's final orbital adjustment maneuver.

T+3:28:07.9: Centaur Ignition 3

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144163.jpg)
After a three-hour coast, the Centaur's RL10 engine reignites for a roughly 95-second firing to raise the GOES-S satellite's perigee, or orbital low point, and reduce its inclination closer to the equator.

T+3:29:42.3: Centaur Cutoff 3

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144160.jpg)
The powered phase of flight is concluded as the Centaur reaches the planned geosynchronous transfer orbit with a perigee, or low point, of 5,104 miles (8,215 kilometers), an apogee, or high point, of 21,926 miles (35,286 kilometers), and an inclination of 9.52 degrees.

T+3:32:31.3: GOES-S Separation

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144178.jpg)
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S, GOES-S, spacecraft deploys from the Centaur upper stage to begin its 15-year weather monitoring mission.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьSecond of NOAA's "high-definition" weather satellites ready for launch
February 28, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143926.jpg)
Artist's concept of the GOES-S satellite in orbit. Credit: Lockheed Martin

The second satellite in a quartet of new NOAA weather observatories is awaiting liftoff Thursday aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, heading for a position 22,000 miles fr om Earth to scan the western United States and Pacific Ocean for typhoons, wildfires and fog.

The GOES-S weather satellite, to be renamed GOES-17 once in orbit, is bolted on top of a 197-foot-tall (60-meter) Atlas 5 rocket set for launch fr om Cape Canaveral at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) Thursday.

The launch window extends for two hours, and the official weather outlook calls for an 80 percent probability of favorable conditions.

Спойлер

Ground crews at Cape Canaveral transferred the Atlas 5 launcher, with four solid rocket boosters made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, fr om ULA's Vertical Integration Facility to the Complex 41 launch pad Wednesday morning.

Once at the pad, the launch team planned to load the Atlas 5's first stage with RP-1 kerosene fuel. The launcher's RD-180 main engine will consume the kerosene in combination with super-cold liquid oxygen, which will be pumped aboard the Atlas 5 during Thursday's countdown, scheduled to formally commence at 10:12 a.m. EST (1512 GMT).

Engineers will power up the Atlas 5 rocket, then load liquid oxygen into the launcher's main stage and Centaur upper stage, plus cryogenic liquid hydrogen into the second stage to fuel the Centaur's Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 main engine.

A final pre-launch poll is scheduled during a planned hold in the countdown at T-minus 4 minutes, and an automated launch sequencer will control the final minutes before liftoff.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143963.jpg)
The Atlas 5 rocket with the GOES-S satellite rolled out to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday morning. Credit: United Launch Alliance

Built by Lockheed Martin, the GOES-S spacecraft is poised to join a sister satellite, named GOES-16, which flew into orbit in November 2016 on a previous Atlas 5 rocket. Like GOES-16, GOES-S carries six instrument packages to survey weather conditions on Earth and in space.

The GOES satellites, launched in series since 1975, are the "backbone of weather and climate forecasts," said Stephen Volz, director of NOAA's satellite and information services.

Imagery fr om the GOES satellites are featured in weather broadcasts and used as a primary forecasting tool by meteorologists across the Western Hemisphere, helping track tropical cyclones and tornado-spawning severe storms, plus monitoring for snow and ice cover, wildfires and fog that threaten transportation and property.

The newest family of GOES satellites, beginning with GOES-16 launched in 2016, offer a "quantum leap" in capability over NOAA's earlier generations of geostationary weather observatories, Volz said in a briefing with reporters Tuesday.

The Advanced Baseline Imager on the latest four GOES satellites can return scans of an entire hemisphere once every 15 minutes, half the time needed by one of NOAA's earlier geostationary spacecraft. The imager can scan the continental United States once every 5 minutes.

The new ABI-equipped satellites can return pictures of hotspots like hurricanes at a cadence of once every 30 seconds, an improvement from the five-minute rapid scans available today.

The imager, built by Harris Corp. in Fort Wayne, Indiana, can simultaneously scan the broader hemisphere in its field-of-view and capture close-up views of individual storm systems, giving forecasters refreshed views of hurricanes and tornado outbreaks.

The ABI can see in 16 visible and infrared channels, yielding deeper insights into moisture levels and cloud types unavailable with previous weather satellite images. Earlier GOES satellites had imagers sensitive to five different parts of the light spectrum.

The upgrade allows meteorologists to distinguish between snow, fog, clouds, volcanic ash, and other particles suspended in the atmosphere.

Data from the GOES-16 satellite, which now provides real-time imagery over the eastern United States, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean and Latin America, has astounded forecasters in its first year of observations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=H0FZs2v5T_8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=H0FZs2v5T_8)

"GOES-16, even beyond its spectacular imagery, is already proving to be a game changer with much more refined, higher quality data for faster and more accurate weather forecasts and warnings," said Ajay Mehta, acting deputy assistant administrator for systems at NOAA's satellite and information service. "This means more lives are saved and better environment intelligence for state and local officials, who, for example, may need to make decisions about when to call for evacuations ahead of life-threatening wildfires."

Before officials declared it operational, GOES-16 recorded detailed views of powerful hurricanes last year churning in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

GOES-16 tracked movements of Hurricane Harvey as it approached the Texas coast and dropped inundating rainfall over Houston, then watched as Hurricane Irma struck Florida and Hurricane Maria made a devastating landfall in Puerto Rico.

NOAA made GOES-16 operational in the so-called "GOES-East" position at the equator over 75 degrees west longitude in December. GOES-S, soon to be named GOES-17, will take a position in the "GOES-West" location at 137 degrees west longitude.

"When it launches March 1 and becomes operational later this year, GOES-S will see the west in true high-definition, and along with the remaining satellites in our GOES-R series, will extend the life of NOAA's geostationary satellite constellation through 2036," said Tim Walsh, acting director of NOAA's GOES-R program.

"These satellites are giving us the ability to look at storms as often as every 30 seconds, allowing forecasters to see storms as they're developing instead of as they've already happened," Walsh said.

NOAA's new space-based weather observing capabilities should result more accurate, and timely, forecasts for the West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii and much of Mexico and Central America.

"The West Coast states, as we've seen recently over the last few months, can be especially impacted by wildfires, dense fog and very strong storms that can produce deadly floods and mudslides," Walsh said.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144013.jpg)
An illustration of the GOES-West and GOES-East satellite positions in geostationary orbit. Credit: NOAA

The sharp-eyed imager aboard GOES-S will also help spot smoke plumes from wildfires and map volcanic discharges that threaten aviation and air quality.

"Airports have to shut down because of heavy fog at times," Volz said. "With the lower resolution of the existing satellites, there might be a pixel which is 10 kilometers in size, which covers an airport and all around it, whereas with the higher-resolution of GOES-R, wh ere you have 1 or 2 kilometers or better, you can pinpoint wh ere there's fog and wh ere there isn't."

An experiment during heavy fog at San Francisco International Airport last year using GOES-16 — before it was repositioned over the Atlantic Ocean — demonstrated the satellite's upgraded imager could see fog burn off sooner than possible with earlier weather observatories, Volz said.

That allowed the airport to reopen earlier than expected, helping travelers safely get to their destinations sooner and saving airlines around $100,000 in unnecessary costs, he said.

GOES-S will also get a better look at ice flows and other seasonal weather patterns in Alaska, officials said, allowing forecasters there to use more GOES satellite data in their daily outlooks. In the past, forecasters in Alaska could not count on the highest-quality imagery from GOES satellites because of their oblique viewing angle from equatorial orbit.

Like its predecessor already in space, GOES-S carries a detector to locate in-cloud, cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning strikes day or night, giving weather forecasters an inventory of the location, frequency and intensity of lightning activity that could help warn the public of severe storms.

Other instruments on GOES-S will look at the sun and chart solar radiation output and solar flares, which affect conditions in Earth's upper atmosphere and generate geomagnetic storms, leading to possible disruptions in communications, navigation and electrical infrastructure.

An ultraviolet solar camera fitted to a telescope on GOES-S will take full disk images of the sun.

A magnetometer and space environment sensor will measure particles and electric fields in space, providing data on charging conditions that could damage other satellites.

GOES-S also hosts a transponder to receive faint distress beacons anywhere on Earth that is visible to the spacecraft. The signals will be relayed to search-and-rescue forces on the ground.

With two modernized satellites in geostationary orbit, NOAA officials said forecasters from New Zealand to West Africa, and from Canada to Patagonia, will have a critical new tool at their fingertips. A pair of Japanese Himawari satellite launched in 2014 and 2016 carry the same type of advanced imager as the new GOES craft, extending the improved coverage into the Asia-Pacific region.

Two more satellites in the GOES-R program — GOES-T and GOES-U — are in assembly at Lockheed Martin's factory in Denver for launches in 2020 and 2024.

NOAA has budgeted $11 billion for the program, a figure that includes the four spacecraft, weather instruments, launch services and ground systems.

Tim Gasparrini, vice president for the GOES-R program at Lockheed Martin, said in an interview Wednesday that the GOES-S spacecraft is powered up and ready for Thursday's launch.

"It's not often that you get to build something that touches hundreds of millions of people," Gasparrini said. "In the same facility, we build planetary spacecraft and those go out and do phenomenal science, but this one actually touches the lives and protects the property of hundreds of millions of people."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143953.jpg)
The GOES-S satellite inside a clean room at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida. Credit: Michael Starobin, NOAA/NASA

Weighing in at 11,488 pounds (5,211 kilograms), GOES-S will ride ULA's Atlas 5 rocket to orbit on a three-and-a-half hour flight Thursday.

After dropping four 67-foot-tall (20-meter), 50-ton (46-metric ton) strap-on boosters and its Swiss-made payload shroud, the Atlas 5's core stage will fire its Russian-made RD-180 engine until T+plus 4 minutes, 21 seconds.

Six seconds later, the Atlas booster will jettison from the Centaur upper stage, and an RL10 engine will ignite for the first three firings to place GOES-S into its targeted orbit.

The first RL10 engine burn will end shortly after T+plus 12 minutes, followed 10 minutes later by a second maneuver lasting five-and-a-half minutes. Three hours later, third and final Centaur burn, expected to last around 95 seconds, will send GOES-S into an elliptical transfer orbit ranging in altitude between 5,104 miles (8,215 kilometers) and 21,926 miles (35,286 kilometers).

The third Centaur firing will move GOES-S's orbit closer its final equatorial operating post, and the upper stage will release the spacecraft at T+plus 3 hours, 32 minutes, on a track inclined 9.5 degrees to the equator.

GOES-S will use its own propellant supply for the final journey toward its perch in a circular geostationary orbit nearly 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) over the equator, wh ere its speed will match that of Earth's rotation, giving its weather instruments a constant view of the same part of the planet.

The Atlas 5's flight sequence will mostly mimic the launch of the GOES-16 — then known as GOES-R — satellite in November 2016, but the final Centaur firing will inject the spacecraft into an orbit one degree closer in latitude to the equator.

That will translate into nearly a year's worth of extra fuel life for GOES-S, which is designed for a 15-year mission but has enough propellant to last 20 years in space.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьAtlas V to Add Second Next-Generation Satellite to U.S. GOES Weather Constellation
February 28, 2018 (http://spaceflight101.com/atlas-v-goes-s-launch-preview/)

(http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/39831144904_f9284422cf_o-512x342.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/39831144904_f9284422cf_o.jpg)
Photo: United Launch Alliance

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rolled to its Cape Canaveral launch pad on Wednesday in preparation for liftoff Thursday afternoon with the second in the next-generation of U.S. Geostationary Meteorological Satellites to complete the operational constellation with two sharply-eyed weather assets watching over the Western Hemisphere from their high-altitude perch.

Thursday's launch of NOAA's GOES-S satellite follows the 2016 launch of GOES-R as the first in the fourth generation of GOES satellites, taking the four-decade satellite program into a new era of weather monitoring and forecasting. Atlas V is expected to leap off the ground at 22:02 UTC, 5:02 p.m. local time, rising into the skies over Florida's Space Coast with the help of four Solid Rocket Boosters that give the vehicle the power needed to send the 5,200-Kilogram payload into a high-energy Geostationary Transfer Orbit over three and a half hours after liftoff.

Спойлер

To reach its orbital destination, Atlas V will travel halfway around the globe on Thursday, in the process firing its trusted Centaur upper stage three times to send the GOES-S satellite on two weeks of orbit-raising to set the stage for several months of checkouts before it can take an active role within the GOES constellation – assuming the position of GOES-West to watch over the Pacific Ocean and the continental United States.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152809.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2016/11/Cxq_IyKVIAAQ_Y5.jpg-large.jpg)
Artist's Rendering of GOES-S – Image: Lockheed Martin

Launching in 2016, GOES-R ushered in a new age for weather forecasting as the fourth GOES generation is widely regarded as the most powerful meteorological satellites ever launched with benefits for operational meteorology and climate science – scanning the Earth five times faster than the previous generation of satellites, offering four times the resolution and expanding spectral coverage by a factor of three – and that is only for the satellite's primary Earth-watching instrument.

(http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/36816394625_840c780a58_o-512x342.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/36816394625_840c780a58_o.jpg)
GOES-R Image of Harvey just before making Landfall – Image: NOAA/CIRA

GOES-R already proved its worth before entering service in December 2017 when saving lives through accurate wind and rainfall predictions for Hurricane Harvey that caused major flooding in Texas in August & September and GOES-R was also on the case when Hurricane Irma trekked across the Atlantic, predicting its landfall location over the Florida Keys with over 24 hours of lead time. Naturally, there is great desire among the meteorological community to receive an equivalent asset in the GOES-West location, watching over developments in the Pacific at high observation cadence.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) have been the backbone of weather forecasting in the United States for the last 44 years, keeping constant watch over weather systems from a high-altitude vantage point 36,000 Kilometers above the equator.

>> GOES Satellite Overview (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/goes-r-spacecraft/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152813.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/02/33555126365_6638579c76_o.jpg)
GOES-S Assembly – Photo: Lockheed Martin

The first GOES satellite launched in 1974 and subsequent satellites gradually upgraded to color imaging, multi-spectral capabilities and added auxiliary instruments to measure space weather. The inauguration of the GOES-R-class satellites was likened to upgrading from a black-and-white television to high-definition color TV in terms of the improvement in image resolution and spectral coverage.

GOES-S is the second in a series of four functionally identical satellites and will begin active duties as GOES-West later this year while the next set of satellites launches in the 2020s to keep the system in operation until at least through the mid-2030, coming with a total price tag of $11 billion for all four satellites and their ground infrastructure tasked with delivering real-time data products, feeding into weather models and archiving data for later use by climate scientists.

Standing six meters tall and weighing in at 5,192 Kilograms at liftoff, GOES-S leverages Lockheed Martin's flight-proven A2100 satellite platform and employs six state-of-the-art instruments to collect multi-band imagery of weather systems, take atmospheric sounding measurements, monitor lightning events with unprecedented accuracy & frequency, and watch over solar events and space weather with a high-energy instrument suite.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152811.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/02/24859622647_bb0da25689_o_d.jpg)
Photo: NASA Kennedy

The satellite's main advancement is found in its core instrument, the Advanced Baseline Imager ABI that generates 95% of the data coming from GOES in the form of imagery and sounding products across 16 spectral channels. ABI scans the entire visible disk of Earth every five minutes and focuses on events of interest every thirty seconds to monitor fast-moving weather systems like powerful thunderstorms or tropical storms at a resolution of up to 0.5 Kilometers. Heritage systems needed 26 minutes to collect a full-disk image and only covered five spectral channels, highlighting ABI's role as a dual instrument for imaging and infrared sounding of the atmosphere.

Because ABI combines the capabilities of two instruments, GOES had a free slot that could be taken up by GLM – the Global Lightning Mapper, the first instrument capable of accurate day-and-night lightning detection to provide insight into the formation of storms and enhance warning reliability for tornado outbreaks and other severe weather events. GLM uses a unique approach capturing 500 frames each second and putting them through an advanced algorithm to pin-point all types of lightning before transmitting data back to the ground.

>> GOES Instrument Overview (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/goes-r-instruments/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152810.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2016/11/goesr-17.jpg)
Image: GOES Project

Vastly improved solar instruments riding on GOES deliver insight into ultraviolet and X-ray emissions from the sun to monitor coronal mass ejections & solar flares and better predict impacts on satellite communications, navigation and power grids. Two in-situ instruments measure the particle and electromagnetic environment in near-Earth space to provide the first measurements of an incoming space weather event and issue warnings for electrostatic and radiation hazards that can be harmful to satellites and astronauts.

GOES-R became GOES-16 on December 18, 2017 when it assumed active duty after over a year of instrument calibration and characterization. By that time, its identical twin GOES-S, was already at its Cape Canaveral Launch site after delivery on December 4th to begin final testing for launch and load up on maneuvering propellant for its 15-year mission in orbit. The launch target for GOES-S, March 1st, 2018, was able to stand for over a year without any delays on the satellite or launch vehicle side.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152808.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2016/11/30565909885_3f245ed6fa_k.jpg)
Atlas V Launch Vehicle Assembly – Photo: NASA Kennedy

Because Atlas V had been on the Eastern Range for several months, its launch takes priority over SpaceX's planned Falcon 9 launch with the Hispasat 30W-6 communications satellite. SpaceX was forced to delay the mission from last Sunday for additional checks of the Falcon 9 Fairing Pressurization System and had requested the range for early March 1st to get Falcon 9 off the ground around 17 hours before Atlas V opens its launch window.

The U.S. Air Force-operated Eastern Range is ultimately working towards a capability of supporting same-day launches through innovations like Autonomous Flight Safety Systems as currently flying on Falcon 9 and part of future vehicle designs that would lessen the amount of range reconfiguration work necessary in between launches. While it would have been theoretically possible for the range to support Falcon 9 just over a half a day before Atlas V, an additional concern arising for these two vehicles is their use of adjacent launch pads with only 2.5 Kilometers separating SpaceX's Space Launch Complex 40 from ULA's SLC-41 launch pad to the north.

(http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/39831122084_fd19cb98cf_o-684x1024.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/39831122084_fd19cb98cf_o.jpg)
Photo: United Launch Alliance

Both launch facilities use clean-pad concepts without retractable service gantries to provide protection to the rocket to shield it from plums and lifted debris from another rocket launching from the adjacent pad, let alone debris in case of a mishap close to the ground. In case of Atlas V, rollout to the pad is needed the day before launch to facilitate final checks and fuel loading on the first stage – leaving it exposed for one night.

With a potential dual-launch-day on the horizon initial discussions were held by the Eastern Range and all involved parties, yielding a decision to give priority to Atlas V which is booked for Thursday and a backup day on Friday and then shuffling Falcon 9 behind the Atlas. A driver of the decision-making process were concerns by NASA of leaving the Atlas and a $500 million satellite out in the open without completing the proper risk assessment work prior to Falcon 9 taking flight.

SpaceX informed the media on Tuesday that the fairing checks had been completed and Falcon 9 remains in readiness for launch once a date can be established with the Eastern Range.

Meanwhile, ULA and NASA completed the Launch Readiness Review for GOES-S, clearing Atlas V to proceed into rollout operations. The 62-meter tall Atlas V emerged from its assembly facility at 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday for a half-hour trip over to the SLC-41 launch pad. Carefully centered on its pad, Atlas V was to be connected to commodity lines, receive some 94,600 liters of rocket-grade Kerosene and go through initial checks in preparation for countdown operations on Thursday.

Meteorologists have issued an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions in their L-1 forecast, calling for a slight threat of cumulus clouds and high ground winds as the result of a pressure gradient associated with a frontal boundary pushing into the Florida Panhandle. Conditions are expected to be best early on in the two-hour window. In the event of a 24-hour delay, the front will move further into Central Florida, bringing a slight shower threat and potential for violations of the cumulus cloud rule.
 

Countdown & Launch Sequence

(http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/DXEkzkKVwAAeUBS-512x342.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/DXEkzkKVwAAeUBS.jpg)
Photo: NASA

Ahead of the countdown, technicians will already be busy at the pad, completing final hands-on work and closing out the Vertical Integration Facility, pad facilities and the Atlas V launcher. The first step completed at T-6 Hours 20 Minutes is the activation of the Atlas V rocket for a multi-hour testing campaign.

The Atlas V 541 is beefed up with four Solid Rocket Boosters attached to the Common Core Booster & Centaur stack. It marks only the sixth launch of the 541 version that flew for the first time in 2011 with the Mars Science Laboratory Rover followed by three launches for the National Reconnaissance Office and the GOES-R mission.

>> Atlas V 541 Launch Vehicle Overview  (http://spaceflight101.com/spacerockets/atlas-v-541/)

Following the activation of the launcher, teams begin a series of checkouts of the electrical system of the rocket. Meanwhile, at the launch pad, technicians complete final hands-on work.

(http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/DXIuNGvVwAIKbQL-512x447.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/DXIuNGvVwAIKbQL.jpg)
Image: United Launch Alliance

While that is in progress, the Launch Team puts the Atlas V through a series of communication checks on its S- and C-Band Systems and purge flows are set up in preparation for propellant loading. By L-3 hours, the launch pad is cleared by all personnel.

At T-2 Hours, the countdown enters a built-in hold during which teams perform the fueling pre-task briefing and the GO/No GO Poll for propellant loading. The complex procedure to load the two stages of the rocket with cryogenics begins as the count comes out of the hold with the chilldown of ground support equipment and transfer lines and tanks chilldown on the Liquid Oxygen side.

>> Atlas V Countdown Timeline (http://spaceflight101.com/atlas-countdown-timeline/)

Liquid Oxygen starts flowing into the Centaur upper stage tanks shortly thereafter. Centaur LOX loading takes about 40 minutes as 15,700 liters of –183-degree Celsius oxidizer are filled into the upper stage. Once Centaur is into propellant loading, the large Liquid Oxygen tank of the Common Core Booster also starts fueling. LOX load on the CCB also moves through the three steps, slow-fill, fast-fill and topping.

(http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/DXJOZpkX0AAJqVW-512x341.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/DXJOZpkX0AAJqVW.jpg)
Photo: Lockheed Martin

The final tank to be loaded during the countdown is the Liquid Hydrogen Tank of the upper stage that also goes through the usual steps. Centaur is loaded with a total of 48,100 liters of -253-degree Celsius LH2 fuel. Centaur can look back at over 200 previous missions under its belt – most of which coupled with an Atlas – a duo that has been operating for several decades.

When clocks reach T-4 Minutes, the countdown enters its final built-in hold for final polling of the launch team prior to pressing into Terminal Count. As clocks start ticking down from T-4 Minutes, final vehicle configurations such as ordnance arming, flight termination system arming, propellant tank pressurization, transfer to internal power, and flight control system reconfigurations will be made as part of the Automated Sequence to place the vehicle in its launch configuration.

At T-2.7 seconds, the massive two-chamber RD-180 main engine of the Common Core Booster ignites and soars up to its full liftoff thrust of 390,250 Kilogram-force.

>> Launch Profile (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/launch-profile/)

(http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/39831148214_5e7c5a8daa_o-683x1024.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/39831148214_5e7c5a8daa_o.jpg)
Photo: United Launch Alliance

As the four boosters ignite, Atlas V will jump off the pad with a liftoff thrust of 1,080-metric-ton-force, creating an initial thrust to weight ratio of 2.0. Less than six seconds after liftoff, Atlas V will start its roll and pitch program to align itself with its precise ascent path, heading east-south-east on the standard route to Geostationary Transfer Orbit from Cape Canaveral. Atlas V will pass the speed of sound 35 seconds after blastoff and encounter Maximum Dynamic Pressure just after passing 47 seconds into the flight, briefly throttling back on its Russian-built main engine.

Burning out after 94 seconds, the four SRBs will have completed their job of providing that extra push needed to boost GOES into orbit. The vehicle will hold onto the SRMs for about 16 more seconds before separating them in a staggered fashion – first jettisoning SRMs 1 and 2 followed 1.5 seconds later by the remaining two boosters.

Powered by the RD-180 engine alone, Atlas V will continue its flight, burning 1,150 Kilograms of propellant each second to generate a thrust of 422 metric tons when flying through the tenuous upper atmosphere. Climbing out, Atlas V will separate its protective payload fairing three minutes and 30 seconds after launch along with the Forward Load Reaction to shed no-longer-needed weight on its way toward orbit.

Approaching the end of the first stage burn, the RD-180 engine will be throttled back to maintain a maximum acceleration of 4.6 Gs. Shutdown of the Common Core Booster occurs at T+4 minutes and 22 seconds followed six seconds later by stage separation that is accomplished by firing pyrotechnics and igniting eight retrorockets on the CCB to safely take it away from the Centaur Upper Stage.

Centaur will purge its Reaction Control System and fire up its RL-10C engine at T+4 minutes and 38 seconds on the mission's first of three main engine burns tasked with pushing the stack into a slightly elliptical Parking Orbit with a thrust of 10,40 Kilogram-force.The burn is expected to last seven minutes and 38 seconds, lifting the stack into an orbit of around 165 x 540 Kilometers.

(http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/goesstrack-512x315.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/goesstrack.jpg)
Image: United Launch Alliance

The GOES satellites do not take the standard route to Geostationary Transfer Orbit which would require two upper stage burns – the first to a Parking Orbit and the second over the equator to raise the apogee. Instead, GOES uses a three-burn mission to achieve an orbit closer to GEO in terms of the change in velocity needed by the spacecraft to boost itself to its operational orbit – increasing the mission's overall propellant margin that could yield another four additional years of spacecraft operation if permitted by systems health.

The second burn is planned to begin 22 minutes and 38 seconds into the flight and last for 5 minutes and 31 seconds to boost the apogee of the orbit to around 32,000 Kilometers, located over the equator on the opposite side of the planet. Next is a long coast phase of exactly three hours to allow the stack to gain altitude in order to perform the burn at the apogee location of the desired GTO transfer orbit in so lift the high point to match GEO while also raising the perigee altitude and firing the RL-10C slightly out of plane for a reduction of orbital inclination – all geared toward delivering GOES-S closer to its operational orbit.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152815.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/02/GOES-S-Track.jpg)
Image: United Launch Alliance

The long coast phase will see the stack fly over South-Central Africa, heading out over Madagascar for a lengthy pass over the Indian Ocean ahead of the critical re-start of the Java Sea.

The third burn will be just 94.4 seconds in duration beginning three hours, 28 minutes and eight seconds into the flight, targeting an insertion orbit of 8,215 by 35,287 Kilometers at an inclination of 9.52 degrees.

Separation of the GOES-S spacecraft is expected three hours and 32 minutes after liftoff to be sent on its way to complete eight days of orbit-raising and four days of fine-tuning to arrive in its desired Geostationary Orbit. Partial Solar Array deployment is planned six minutes after separation and two-way command and telemetry operations should be established by T+3 hours and 52 minutes.

[свернуть]

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 48 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/969158705123078145)

Bird is on the pad. #GOES (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES?src=hash) is healthy. Weather looks good. Feels like a good day to go to space.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 14 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/969189686437703681)

Nice view
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174277.jpg)

Цитировать03/01/2018 18:14 Stephen Clark

The countdown has started, with clocks picking up at 10:12 a.m. EST (1512 GMT) for tonight's launch of an Atlas 5 rocket with the GOES-S weather satellite, the second of four new-generation NOAA meteorological observatories in geostationary orbit.

Спойлер

The countdown sequence, nearly seven hours long, will include two built-in holds. A final poll during the second built-in hold at T-minus 4 minutes will give authorization to begin the terminal countdown.

Liftoff is set for 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) at the opening of a two-hour launch window.

The first tasks for the Atlas 5 launch team will involve powering on the rocket for pre-flight testing. Then the team will move into preparations on the Centaur upper stage's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant systems. A test of the Atlas 5's guidance system, first stage propulsion and hydraulic checks, internal battery testing, verification of the readiness of the rocket's GPS metric tracking system and a test of the launcher's S-band telemetry transmitters are also planned.

The launch team will be polled for readiness to begin fueling the rocket during a hold at T-minus 2 hours. Once they give the "go" for fueling, liquid oxygen will be pumped into the Centaur upper stage, followed by liquid oxygen into the Atlas 5 first stage, and concluding with super-cold liquid hydrogen fuel loading into the Centaur.

[свернуть]

Цитировать03/01/2018 19:44 Stephen Clark

The first weather briefing on today's countdown has been completed, and there is now a 90 percent percent chance of favorable weather during this evening's two-hour launch window.

ЦитироватьPhotos: Atlas 5 treks from hangar to launch pad with GOES-S weather satellite
March 1, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/03/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

Rolling out on the eve of liftoff with the GOES-S weather satellite, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket journeyed 1,800 feet from its vertical assembly hangar to Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad Wednesday.

Riding a 1.4-million-pound mobile launch platform, the Atlas 5 emerged from the Vertical Integration Facility around 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) Wednesday for the trip to nearby Complex 41. Two "trackmobiles" pushed the Atlas 5 and its mobile table along dual rail tracks.

These photos show the Atlas 5's journey to the pad, along with shots captured Wednesday evening showing the Atlas 5 at dusk.

Спойлер

Liftoff is scheduled for 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) Thursday at the opening of a two-hour launch window.

Read more about the launch in our Mission Status Center (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/28/av-077-mission-status-center/).

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144111.jpg)
Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144108.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144107.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144106.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144110.jpg)
Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144109.jpg)
Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144123.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144070.jpg)
Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144069.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144105.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144112.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144073.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144072.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144124.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144071.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьThe GOES-S Social Briefing

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220784.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAgovVideo) NASA Video (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_aP7p621ATY_yAa8jMqUVA)

Опубликовано: 1 мар. 2018 г.

Social media followers got a briefing on the upcoming launch of NOAA's GOES-S spacecraft, set to launch March 1 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida. Once the satellite is declared operational, late this year, it will occupy NOAA's GOES-West position and provide faster, more accurate data for tracking wildfires, tropical cyclones, fog and other storm systems and hazards that threaten the western United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, Mexico, Central America and the Pacific Ocean, all the way to New Zealand.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 2 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/969278837845524483)

Cool visit to the pad with @NOAA (https://twitter.com/NOAA) friends Admiral Gallaudet and Dr. Jacobs. #GOES (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES?src=hash)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174288.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185376.jpg)Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live (https://twitter.com/S101_Live) 40 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/S101_Live/status/969280385141133315)

#GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) hosts 6 instruments - ABI doubles as an imaging and sounding payload collecting global data every 5 minutes, GLM tracks lightning with unprecedented accuracy, SUVI/EXIS monitor solar activity, SEISS/MAG track local space weather parameters. Details: http://bit.ly/2frG4Tl  (https://t.co/7bqNkSeJcq)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174289.jpg)

Цитировать...
The latest weather update from meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing is now at a 90 percent chance of favorable weather today for liftoff of the Atlas V rocket with NOAA's GOES-S satellite. The rocket is slated to liftoff at 5:02 p.m. EST.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29898.jpg)ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 4 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/969294987631431680)

The #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) countdown has just entered a planned 15-minute hold, the first of 2 planned holds in today's launch countdown. The team uses this time to assess readiness for cryogenic fueling (loading of super-cooled liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen) operations.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 8 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/969295626742784001)

Tim Dunn, NASA LSP launch Manager, conducting a poll and the NASA team is GO for cryogenic tanking.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29898.jpg)ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 58 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/969298163373879296)

The polling is complete, and the team has give the "GO!" to begin cryogenic fueling operations. We're counting down to launch; window opens at 5:02pmET, broadcast at 4:30 https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch ... (https://t.co/5rFPW7aYFs)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29898.jpg)ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/969298163373879296)

The polling is complete, and the team has give the "GO!" to begin cryogenic fueling operations. We're counting down to launch; window opens at 5:02pmET, broadcast at 4:30 https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch ... (https://t.co/5rFPW7aYFs)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 17 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/969295392293650439)

Rocket and #GOES (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES?src=hash) looking good. Here's a mission profile while you wait
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174282.jpg)

Цитировать03/01/2018 23:32 90 minutes to launch Stephen Clark

There are no technical problems being discussed, and weather conditions are favorable for liftoff of an Atlas 5 rocket at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad.

NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite will ride into geostationary transfer orbit, heading toward a final perch more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator to track storms, wildfires, fog and other atmospheric phenomena over the western United States, the Pacific Ocean and Latin America.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 2 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/969311346675404800)

We are go for Cryo Ops. Pgo 90%. #GOES (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES?src=hash)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29831.jpg)William Harwood‏ @cbs_spacenews (https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews) 2 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/969316784489803778)

A5/GOES: Now 1 hour to launch; fueling is almost complete; no issues reported

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 27 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/969319195002458112)

The weather conditions we monitor for #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125513.png) launches, though each rocket configuration = a little different. Launch status for #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) is currently GREEN at just under an hour from launch. https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/633165main_atlas-5-weather.pdf ... (https://t.co/jXT9BDAQG6)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174281.jpg)

Цитировать03/02/2018 00:10 Stephen Clark

The Atlas 5 rocket, weighing 1.2 million pounds fully loaded, now stands fueled for launch as the countdown continues on schedule for a liftoff at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT).

Цитировать03/02/2018 00:17 Stephen Clark

45 minutes until launch. Here are some statistics on tonight's mission:

658th launch for Atlas program since 1957
361st Atlas launch from Cape Canaveral
247th mission of a Centaur upper stage
224th use of Centaur by an Atlas rocket
486th production RL10 engine to be launched
24th RL10C-1 engine launched
82nd flight of an RD-180 main engine
97th-100th AJ-60 solid rocket boosters flown
76th launch of an Atlas 5 since 2002
16th NASA use of an Atlas 5
62nd launch of an Atlas 5 from Cape Canaveral
2nd Atlas 5 launch of 2018
112th Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight
126th United Launch Alliance flight overall
68th Atlas 5 under United Launch Alliance
90th United Launch Alliance flight from Cape Canaveral
30th ULA launch for NASA
24th 500-series flight of the Atlas 5
6th Atlas 5 to fly in the 541 configuration
89th launch from Complex 41
62nd Atlas 5 to use Complex 41
2nd GOES-R satellite series launch
18th launch of a GOES satellite
7th launch of a GOES satellite on an Atlas rocket

Цитировать03/02/2018 00:27 Stephen Clark

The countdown loops are mostly quiet at this time, and there is no indication of any problems that could prevent liftoff of the Atlas 5 from Cape Canaveral at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT).

Цитировать03/02/2018 00:51 Stephen Clark

The Lockheed Martin-built GOES-S weather satellite is being switched to its internal battery power supply at this time.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29898.jpg)ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 1 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/969330581879259136)

Polling is complete and we are GO! for #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) launch at 5:02 p.m. EST. Watch live! https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch ... (https://t.co/5rFPW7aYFs)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67530.jpg)Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow) 54 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/969330994850430976)

T-minus 4 minutes and counting. The terminal countdown has started, kicking off final steps to prep the Atlas 5 for liftoff with the GOES-S weather satellite. Watch live: https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/28/av-077-mission-status-center/ ... (https://t.co/Gr9v5Uujoy)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185376.jpg)Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live (https://twitter.com/S101_Live) 34 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/S101_Live/status/969339550937026562)

Transfer Orbit Injection was nominal, Centaur's navigation platform is showing the stack in an orbit of 204 x 32,780 Kilometers, inclined 25.7°. While coasting, the vehicle will pass over Africa&Madagascar before crossing the Indian Ocean. Burn #3 occurs over the Java Sea. #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67516.jpg)Jonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 5 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/969348460775436288)

Atlas AV-077 was launched from Cape Canaveral at 2202 UTC carrying NOAA's GOES-S geostationary weather satellite. Currently in initial geotransfer orbit, will make another Centaur burn at 0030 UTC to raise orbit closer to GEO.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67516.jpg)Jonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 33 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/969353949382922242)

Correction: third Centaur burn is at 0130 UTC (2030 EST), not 0030 UTC.

ЦитироватьGOES-S launched by Atlas V 541

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220782.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/SciNewsRo) SciNews (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjU6ZwoTQtKWfz1urL7XcbA)

Опубликовано: 1 мар. 2018 г.

ЦитироватьLaunch of Atlas V 541 Rocket with GOES-S Weather Satellite

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220764.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/SpaceVidsNet) Space Videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdF5d0UwSJJunRcRVzP1uDg)

Опубликовано: 1 мар. 2018 г.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185509.jpg)Jim Banks‏Подлинная учетная запись @Jim_Banks (https://twitter.com/Jim_Banks) 34 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/Jim_Banks/status/969347521884672001)

My view from 20,000 feet #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash).

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969347416779452416/pu/vid/720x1280/BukMkxgAbrOfoKn1.mp4 (https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969347416779452416/pu/vid/720x1280/BukMkxgAbrOfoKn1.mp4)
(video (https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969347416779452416/pu/vid/720x1280/BukMkxgAbrOfoKn1.mp4) 0:13)

ЦитироватьThe Centaur stage of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is firing its small thrusters to position itself and the GOES-S payload into the proper position to fire its main engine for the final time during the mission.  NASA TV will resume coverage at 8:15 p.m. EST. Spacecraft separation is set to occur at approximately 8:31:55 p.m.

ЦитироватьNASA's GOES-S Ready for Launch Atop Atlas V

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220298.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKennedy) NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 1 мар. 2018 г.

ЦитироватьGOES-S, Atlas V are "Go" for Launch

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220298.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKennedy) NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 1 мар. 2018 г.

In the launch control at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, NASA and contractor managers and engineers monitor progress in the countdown to launch NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S. The poll confirms all is ready for liftoff. The GOES series of satellites will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is scheduled to lift off at 5:02 p.m. EST on March 1, 2018.

ЦитироватьLiftoff of GOES-S

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220298.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKennedy) NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 1 мар. 2018 г.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67530.jpg)Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow) 30 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/969359386610143232)

Here's another view of today's Atlas 5 launch as captured from a tracking camera near the launch pad at Cape Canaveral.
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969359242271453184/pu/vid/644x360/z_DD1Rrgs507f-_C.mp4 (https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969359242271453184/pu/vid/644x360/z_DD1Rrgs507f-_C.mp4)
(video (https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969359242271453184/pu/vid/644x360/z_DD1Rrgs507f-_C.mp4) 0:33)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 31 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/969362988963688448)

CORRECTION: #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125535.png)spacecraft separation from the #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125513.png) will occur around 0134 GMT/ 8:34p.m. EST

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 9 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/969370540917051393)

Over 2 weeks, @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125535.png)'s main engine will take it from this transfer orbit of 8200 x 35300 km to a geosynchronous orbit. The perigee at #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125513.png) insertion is slightly (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125628.png) and inclination slightly (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125629.png) than #GOESR (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESR?src=hash) GTO insertion. Tricky question: 13% votes (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125382.png)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174299.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185368.png)NWS Little Rock‏Подлинная учетная запись @NWSLittleRock (https://twitter.com/NWSLittleRock) 3 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NWSLittleRock/status/969337573880532992)

GOES-S launch as seen from the GOES-East Simple Water Vapor Channel! #arwx (https://twitter.com/hashtag/arwx?src=hash) #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash)
https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/DXPG-czVQAAKK4R.mp4 (https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/DXPG-czVQAAKK4R.mp4)
(video (https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/DXPG-czVQAAKK4R.mp4) 0:08 )

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 4 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/969379121091530752)

Out of plane rocket burns change the inclination of the orbit. #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125513.png) will lower #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125535.png) to 9.52 deg. (57% voted (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125382.png)) The spacecraft engines will take it down to 0 deg inclination while also raising the apogee and perigee to geostationary orbit.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186259.jpg)John Kraus‏ @johnkrausphotos (https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos) 1 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/969361846359810048)

The RD-180 engine and four @AerojetRdyne (https://twitter.com/AerojetRdyne) AJ-60A solid rocket motors power @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch)'s Atlas V and #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) to space on behalf of #NASA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASA?src=hash) and #NOAA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NOAA?src=hash).
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174298.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186276.jpg)NOAA Satellites‏Подлинная учетная запись @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) 4 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/969380605657075712)

#GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) the night's not over yet. We're still waiting for spacecraft separation and solar array deployment, bringing power to the satellite. Updates starting NOW on http://nasa.gov/live  (https://t.co/QpXlRDu8Mf) (photo credit: ULA)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174300.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 5 мин.5 минут назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/969385452024291328)

We have separation of the @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125535.png) from the #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125513.png) Centaur. #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) is flying on its own for the first time! #ItIsRocketScience (https://twitter.com/hashtag/ItIsRocketScience?src=hash)
https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/DXPyq3WXUAA8b8L.mp4 (https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/DXPyq3WXUAA8b8L.mp4)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg)Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 6 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/969385660963487744)

S/C Sep for GOES-S! Atlas V successful launch.

ARTICLE:

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/03/ula-atlas-goes-s-launch/ ... (https://t.co/SVsiB5uWLU)

- by William Graham

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174301.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 1 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/969389157733863424)

After separation, the Centaur performed a Collision Avoidance Maneuver, then will blow down its fuel & oxidizer to go into disposal orbit. #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185344.jpg)NASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 1 час назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/969391708915068928)

The spacecraft team has confirmed successful solar array deployment! @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125535.png) is power positive and looking great. Pam Sullivan thanked @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) and @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) for a great ride on #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186276.jpg)NOAA Satellites‏Подлинная учетная запись @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) 1 час назад (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/969391576710557697)

Success!!! The #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) solar array has deployed! Thanks for letting us know, SMD!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174293.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185339.jpg)NASA‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA (https://twitter.com/NASA) 17 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA/status/969392415277592576)

#GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) is flying on its own with solar arrays powered. It is ready to be checked out before starting to gather faster, more accurate data that will track storm systems, lightning, wildfires, dense fog and other hazards for @NOAA (https://twitter.com/NOAA)'s @NWS (https://twitter.com/NWS) & more.
https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/DXP5QSiU0AEOV7M.mp4 (https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/DXP5QSiU0AEOV7M.mp4)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 1 час назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/969398462210068480)

126

Цитировать03/02/2018 05:54 Stephen Clark

Officials confirmed the GOES-S satellite has completed a partial extension of its solar arrays, as planned, shortly after deployment from the Atlas 5 rocket in an on-target orbit.

The power-generating panel will be fully extended around 12 days after launch, once GOES-S reaches its planned circular orbit nearly 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) over the equator.

GOES-S's on-board engine, built by the Japanese company IHI, will fire six times over the next 10 days, beginning Saturday, to nudge the satellite toward its geostationary orbit destination. A final maneuver 14 days after launch will stop the satellite's orbital drift over the Americas, setting up for a series of tests at a position at 90 degrees west longitude.

The satellite's X-band antenna will be deployed 18 days after launch, and an auxiliary S-band and L-band antenna wing will be extended 19 days after liftoff.

The boom holding GOES-S's magnetometer instrument will be deployed 20 days after launch, and then controllers will begin configuring the satellite's weather instruments for observations, including a month of outgassing to ensure the sensors are free of contaminants that might have been carried from Earth.

Tim Walsh, acting director of the GOES-R program at NOAA, said the new weather satellite will be ready to move to its final operating post at 137 degrees west longitude around six months after launch to begin tracking storms over the western United States and the Pacific Ocean, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67530.jpg)Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow) 21 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/969408671305424898)

The GOES-S weather satellite has partially extended its solar array, as planned, after an on-target launch on an Atlas 5 rocket. Here's an on-board camera view of spacecraft separation. https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/28/av-077-mission-status-center/ ... (https://t.co/Gr9v5Uujoy)
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969408570318929920/pu/vid/640x360/HnMQ_wwE85X5O85h.mp4 (https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969408570318929920/pu/vid/640x360/HnMQ_wwE85X5O85h.mp4) (0:35)

Цитировать

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220113.png) (https://www.ulalaunch.com/)

United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches GOES-S
 Weather Satellite for NASA and NOAA

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., (March 1, 2018 ) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the GOES-S mission for NASA and NOAA lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 on March 1 at 5:02 p.m. EST. GOES-S is the second satellite in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R series of satellites, which have played a vital role in weather forecasting, storm tracking and meteorological research. ULA's current and heritage Atlas and Delta rockets have launched every GOES satellite, first launching in 1975.

Спойлер

"Thank you to our partners at NASA and NOAA for the outstanding teamwork, as we delivered this next-generation satellite to orbit," said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs. "We are proud to serve as the ultimate launch provider, continuing our dedication to 100 percent mission success."

GOES-S will be operated from a vantage point 22,300 miles above Earth to cover the western United States, Alaska and Hawaii, providing unprecedented advancements in the clarity and timeliness of observations over the region. It will work in tandem with the GOES-R satellite that was successfully launched by an Atlas V rocket on Nov. 19, 2016. The next-generation GOES-R series scans the Earth five times faster at four times the image resolution, with triple the number of data channels than previous GOES satellites for more reliable forecasts.

This mission was launched aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) 541 configuration, which includes a 5-meter payload fairing. The Atlas booster for this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine. Aerojet Rocketdyne provided the four AJ-60A solid rocket boosters and the RL10C-1 engine for the Centaur upper stage.

This is the 76th launch of the Atlas V rocket, ULA's 3rd launch in 2018 and the 126th successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006.

ULA's next launch is the AFSPC-11 mission for the U.S. Air Force on an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the nation's most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 125 satellites to orbit that aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, unlock the mysteries of our solar system, provide critical capabilities for troops in the field and enable personal device-based GPS navigation.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьMarch 2, 2018
RELEASE 18-012

NASA, ULA Launch Advanced NOAA Weather Satellite

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/208204.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/39853231794_48d98dbeb5_o.jpg)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S. Liftoff was at 5:02 p.m. EST. GOES-S is the second satellite in a series of next-generation weather satellites.
Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA successfully launched the second in a series of next-generation weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at 5:02 p.m. EST Thursday.

NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES-R-Series-Satellites)-S (GOES-S) lifted off on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

GOES-S mission managers confirmed at 8:58 p.m. the spacecraft's solar arrays successfully deployed and the spacecraft was operating on its own power.

Спойлер

The satellite will provide faster, more accurate and more detailed data, in near real-time, to track storm systems, lightning, wildfires, coastal fog and other hazards that affect the western United States.

"We at NASA Science are proud to support our joint agency partner NOAA on today's launch of GOES-S, a national asset that will impact lives across the Western Hemisphere each and every day," said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science, who attended today's launch.

Once GOES-S is positioned in a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above Earth, in approximately two weeks, it will be renamed GOES-17. Later this year, after undergoing a full checkout and validation of its six high-tech instruments, the new satellite will move to the GOES-West position and become operational. From there, it constantly will provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and improved monitoring of solar activity and space weather.

In addition to improving weather forecasts, GOES-17 will help forecasters locate and track wildfires – invaluable information that emergency response teams need to fight fires and evacuate people out of harm's way. GOES-17 also will be an important tool for forecasters to track and predict the formation and dissipation of fog, which can disrupt airport operations.

GOES-17 will work in tandem with GOES-16, the first satellite in NOAA's new geostationary series, now at the GOES-East position. GOES-17 will extend observational high-resolution satellite coverage of the revolutionary new technology aboard GOES-16 to most of the Western Hemisphere, from the west coast of Africa to New Zealand, and from near the Arctic Circle to near the Antarctic Circle. The satellite will provide more and better data than is currently available over the northeastern Pacific Ocean, the birthplace of many weather systems that affect the continental U.S.

NOAA manages the GOES-R Series program through an integrated NOAA/NASA office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA also oversees the acquisition of the spacecraft (https://www.goes-r.gov/spacesegment/spacecraft.html), instruments (https://www.goes-r.gov/spacesegment/instruments.html) and launch vehicles (https://www.goes-r.gov/spacesegment/launchvehicle.html). Lockheed Martin Space of Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft and is responsible for spacecraft development, integration and testing.

Mission operations will be performed by NOAA at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland. Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Florida, provided the main instrument payload, the Advanced Baseline Imager, and the ground system, which includes the antenna system for data receipt. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management. ULA of Centennial, Colorado, is the provider of the Atlas V launch service.

-end-

Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov (mailto:stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov)

[свернуть]

Last Updated: March 2, 2018
Editor: Karen Northon

ЦитироватьInterview with NASA Launch Director

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220298.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKennedy) NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 1 мар. 2018 г.

Following the successful liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S, NASA Launch Director Tim Dunn speaks with Mike Curie of NASA Communications.

ЦитироватьNext-Generation Weather Sentinel Rides to Orbit atop Atlas V Powerhouse
March 2, 2018 (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/atlas-v-launches-goes-s-weather-satellite/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152823.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/03/GOES-S_Launch_fromPad-6.jpg)
Photo: Erik Kuna, erikkuna.com (http://erikkuna.com/)

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket pierced into the afternoon clouds over Florida's Cape Canaveral on Thursday, carrying into orbit a critical U.S. weather satellite set to join a sister spacecraft launched one and a half years ago to complete NOAA's high-orbiting constellation of next-generation weather sentinels.

Likened to upgrading fr om grainy black-and-white TV to high-definition vision, the introduction of the fourth-generation of America's high-altitude GOES satellites marks a major leap in forecasting adverse weather, detecting wildfires, and warning of space weather events to ultimately save lives on Earth.

Atlas V jumped off its Atlantic-side launch pad at 22:02 UTC, 5:02 p.m. local time, enlisting the help of four Aerojet Rocketdyne Solid Rocket Boosters to catapult it skyward and send the 5,200-Kilogram GOES-S satellite on its way. The boosters dropped away less than two minutes into the rocket's climb and Atlas V relied on its Russian-built RD-180 main engine until four and a half minutes after launch when the trusted Centaur stage took over, conducting its 247th mission.

Спойлер

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152822.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/03/GOES-S_Launch_fromPad-1.jpg)
Photo: Erik Kuna, erikkuna.com (http://erikkuna.com/)

Centaur and its hydrogen-fueled RL-10C engine were tasked with three firings on Thursday, taking GOES-S halfway around the world over the course of the methodical orbit-raising operation in a bid to drop the satellite off closer to its operational orbit and so provide it with an additional four years of propellant margin. The final injection burn over the Java Sea was declared a success and loaded springs pushed the satellite on its way three hours and 32 minutes after launch, some 33,000 Kilometers above the planet – putting the checkmark behind Atlas V's 76th mission.

Separating fr om its booster after a smooth climb, GOES-S headed off on two weeks of orbit-raising burns to reach its desired high-altitude perch 36,000 Kilometers above the equator where its speed is interlocked with Earth's rotation to enable the craft to remain in the same position relative to the ground. Half a year of checkouts are on tap before GOES-S will assume active duties as GOES-17 in the GOES-West position, watching over typhoons in the Pacific Ocean and weather events across the continental United States.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152812.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/02/33555126015_042c45a13c_o.jpg)
Photo: Lockheed Martin

The arrival of GOES-S is eagerly awaited by meteorologists and climate scientists alike after its sister satellite, GOES-R, already proved its worth even before entering operational service in December.

Launched in November 2016 as the first in the new generation of spacecraft, GOES-R delivered life-saving data during the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season – providing accurate wind and rain forecasts for Hurricane Harvey that caused major flooding in Texas in August and September and the satellite was also on the case when predicting wh ere destructive Hurricane Irma would cross over the Florida Keys with over 24 hours of lead time. Naturally, there is a great desire to fill the GOES-West location with an equivalent asset to obtain similar data for systems forming in the Pacific Ocean.

>> GOES-S Satellite Overview (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/goes-r-spacecraft/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152816.png) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/03/37206615445_c837d9f1f9_o.png)
GOES-R Captures Hurricanes Katia, Irma and José in September 2017 – Credit: NOAA/CIRA

The GOES-R class of satellites and their state-of-the-art ground system is an $11-billion undertaking and involves a total of four satellites to keep the GOES system in operation through 2036. Next in line are GOES-T and U, set for launch in 2020 and 2022 to become in-orbit spares before taking over active duty.

GOES – the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites – have been the backbone of U.S. weather forecasting for over four decades, finding their roots in 1974 as the high-altitude segment of the American weather fleet. As part of modern-day weather satellite systems, spacecraft in Geostationary Orbit are tasked with the collection of rapid-refresh data to follow cloud patterns, collect medium resolution atmospheric profiles and a number of auxiliary products while low-orbiting satellites at 800 Kilometers provide less frequent data but can collect detailed atmospheric profiles to feed into numerical forecast models.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152807.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2016/11/14400595575_991a1c5be4_o.jpg)
Image: Lockheed Martin

The new GOES satellite generation represents a quantum leap over the first three generations of geostationary weather satellites, scanning the Earth five times faster, offering four times the resolution and improving spectral coverage by a factor of three while also inaugurating new instruments to reduce false tornado warnings and further capabilities in the emerging field of space weather forecasting that is gaining importance given the increasing reliance on satellites in our everyday lives.

Each fourth-generation GOES satellite hosts six state-of-the-art instruments – two pointed at Earth to collect imagery, atmospheric soundings and lightning data, two scanning the sun for UV and X-ray emissions and two taking measurements of near-Earth space to provide the first warning of incoming space weather events.

The core instrument of the satellites, the Advanced Baseline Imager, is responsible for 95% of the data coming from the spacecraft, doubling as an imaging and sounding instrument.

>> GOES-S Instrument Overviews (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/goes-r-instruments/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152817.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/03/38299012744_ec39897636_o_d1.jpg)
Photo: NASA Kennedy

Scanning the entire visible disk of Earth as frequently as every five minutes and delivering sub-frames of events of interest every thirty seconds, ABI creates the equivalent of 200 HD movies every day. Each scan collects data in sixteen spectral channels as opposed to five on the heritage system that could only take one full-disk image every 26 minutes.

The increase in spectral coverage and the high spatial resolution of up to 0.5 Kilometers allows ABI to obtain detailed pictures of cloud movement, watch over storms at unprecedented measurement cadence, and identify fires on the ground to aid fire detection and response. ABI's spectral coverage enables deeper insight into moisture levels, cloud type and height, fog and snow identification, as well as aerosol and ash cloud detection.

Because the Harris Corp. ABI combines the functions of two heritage instruments, GOES had an open instrument slot to fill, opting for the addition of the Geostationary Lightning Mapper. GLM employs a novel algorithm that collects and compares 500 frames per second to pin-point all types of lightning in day and night conditions. Real time insight into lightning can significantly enhance warning reliability and lead time for tornado outbreaks and other severe weather, cutting the number of false warnings in half.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152813.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/02/33555126365_6638579c76_o.jpg)
Photo: Lockheed Martin

The two sun-watching instruments of the satellite are tasked with delivering full-disk images of the sun in six ultraviolet bands plus spectral data in the extreme-UV and X-ray range to characterize active regions for accurate assessments of coronal mass ejections and flares that can impact Earth's geomagnetic environment. Energetic particles and electromagnetic characteristics of near-Earth space are measured by a pair of in-situ instruments – providing the first measurement of incoming space weather and warning satellite operators of potentially harmful electrostatic discharge and radiation events.

GOES-R was declared operational on December 18th in the GOES-East slot at 75 degrees west longitude; GOES-S will be destined for the GOES-West position at 137°W wh ere it will become operational in around six months to deliver more accurate and timely forecasts for the West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii and Central America. The GOES-East position was given priority and received the first GOES-R-class satellite to watch over hurricanes, but, as recent events have shown, a similar capability at GOES-West will also save lives as West Coast states have been impacted by wildfires, dense fog and periodic rain causing deadly floods and mudslides.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152818.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/03/39831801484_a9c5b5c851_o.jpg)
Photo: NASA Kennedy

Sending GOES-S into orbit was up to the second-most-powerful version of ULA's Atlas V rocket, beefed up with four AJ60 Solid Rocket Boosters installed around the Common Core Booster first stage with Centaur fulfilling the role of upper stage and a five-meter payload fairing enshrouding the six-meter tall satellite.

>> Atlas V 541 Launch Vehicle Overview (http://spaceflight101.com/spacerockets/atlas-v-541/)

The 62-meter Atlas V rocket, designated AV-077, formally entered countdown operations at 15:12 UTC on Thursday, gearing up for a two-hour launch window. Most of the early countdown operation was dedicated to a detailed checkout campaign on the rocket while teams put the finishing touches on ground systems at the SLC-41 launch complex.

Cryogenic propellant loading started when the countdown resumed from a planned pause at T-2 hours, initiating the process of loading the two-stage stack with supercold Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen propellant plus Helium pressurization gas.

Filled with over 300 metric tons of liquid propellants plus some 165 tons of solid propellant packed into the four boosters, Atlas V entered the fast-paced events of its four-minute Automated Countdown Sequence after all support stations provided a unanimous GO for the rocket's afternoon liftoff. The 540-metric-ton vehicle came to life three seconds before launch when firing up its Kerosene-fueled RD-180 main engine, soaring to a launch thrust of 3,827 Kilonewtons.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152821.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/03/GOES-S_Launch_fromPad-13.jpg)
Photo: Erik Kuna, erikkuna.com (http://erikkuna.com/)

Atlas V leapt off the ground at 22:02:00 UTC when its four boosters fired up to take the vehicle skyward with a total launch thrust of 1,080 metric-ton-force – exceeding the rocket's mass by a factor of two and making for a speedy climb-out from its Mobile Launch Platform.

Five seconds into the flight, Atlas V had cleared the lightning towers surrounding its launch pad and began its pitch and roll programs to attain a launch azimuth to the east-south-east, departing Florida on the standard route toward Geostationary Transfer Orbit. With the help of its boosters, Atlas V pushed through the sound barrier after just 36 seconds and the RD-180 throttled back briefly as the vehicle passed Maximum Dynamic Pressure at the 47-second mark into the mission.

Thrust on the four boosters tailed off at T+94 seconds after each burned 41 metric tons of propellant to deliver the initial kick needed by Atlas V to deliver its heavy load into an optimized Geostationary Transfer Orbit. The 17-meter long SRBs dropped away in pairs at T+1 minute and 50 seconds and Atlas V switched into Closed Loop Control a short time later after flying a pre-programmed attitude profile when ascending through the dense atmosphere.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152820.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/03/GOES-S_Launch_fromPad-12.jpg)
Photo: Erik Kuna, erikkuna.com (http://erikkuna.com/)

The Swiss-made Payload Fairing split open and separated three minutes and 30 seconds into the flight followed moments later by the jettisoning of the Forward Load Reactor as Atlas V shed no-longer-needed weight on its climb into orbit. RD-180 entered its throttle segment a short time later, limiting acceleration toward the end of the first stage burn as the vehicle only weighed a tenth of what it did at liftoff by that point of the flight.

BECO – Booster Engine Cutoff was called out four minutes and 22 seconds into the flight after the RD-180 burned through 284 metric tons of Rocket Propellant 1 and Liquid Oxygen. The 32.5-meter long booster pulled away from the Centaur upper stage six seconds after cutoff using eight retrorockets and Centaur immediately headed into pre-start of the Aerojet Rocketdyne RL-10C engine.

Centaur soared to a thrust of 10,400-Kilogram-force at T+4 minutes and 38 seconds, beginning a planned seven-minute and 34-second burn tasked with injecting the stack into a preliminary Parking Orbit. The upper stage continued heading south east throughout its burn and switched communications to NASA's TDRSS system as it traveled across the Atlantic Ocean, achieving an orbit of 180 by 540 Kilometers, inclined 28.15 degrees.

Instead of a standard two-burn delivery into GTO, Thursday's mission employed a more complex three-burn mission intended to deliver GOES-S closer to its operational orbit. A standard GTO-injection would require the satellite to deliver a total change in velocity of around 1,800 meters per second to reach Geostationary Orbit whereas Thursday's mission was aiming for a GTO-1,140m/s orbit, cutting over 600m/s from the transfer which translates to more than four years of additional stationkeeping propellant reserves.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152814.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/02/GOES-S-Track.jpg)
Image: United Launch Alliance

Centaur fired up its RL-10 engine again at T+22:38 on a burn of five minutes and 31 seconds while crossing the equator over the Gulf of Guinea to significantly boost the apogee of the orbit and position it close to the equator on the opposite side of Earth. The onboard navigation system showed Centaur reached an orbit of 204 x 32,780 Kilometers, 25.69° and the upper stage settled in for a passive flight phase of exactly three hours, crossing Sub-Saharan Africa, heading out over Madagascar and the Indian Ocean before starting the critical third burn while approaching the prospect apogee location of the finalized injection orbit.

RL-10C was re-started three hours and 28 minutes into the mission and fired for 94 seconds to significantly raise the orbit's perigee, top-up the apogee to match Geostationary altitude and conduct a major plane change to reduce the orbital inclination – aiming for an insertion orbit of 8,215 by 35,287 Kilometers at an inclination of 9.52 degrees.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/152819.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/wp-content/uploads/sites/122/2018/03/GOESSLaunch-5.jpg)
GOES-S Separation – Photo: NASA TV

Launch Control called out a clean shutdown and Centaur's navigation platform showed an orbit of 8,201 by 35,290 Kilometers, 9.53° – marking another spot-on insertion for the workhorse and allowing GOES-S to operate one year longer than GOES-R through a further inclination reduction of one degree compared to the 2016 mission.

GOES-S was deployed at the three-hour and 32-minute mark into the mission and applause emerged at Launch Control after another flawless mission by the Atlas V. Drifting away from the Centaur upper stage, GOES-S made the first steps in a mission of at least 15 and up to 20 years. First stage deployment of the craft's solar array was planned 16 minutes after separation followed by initial acquisition of two-way telemetry and command links to enable Lockheed Martin teams to complete a cursory health inspection.

GOES-S is expected to make its way up into Geostationary Orbit over the next three weeks ahead of six months of in-depth checkouts and instrument characterization.

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ЦитироватьРакета-носитель Atlas V стартовала во Флориде с метеорологическим спутником
ВАШИНГТОН, 2 мар – РИА Новости. Ракета-носитель Atlas V стартовала во Флориде с новым американским метеорологическим спутником GOES-S, NASA ведет трансляцию запуска.
Старт принадлежащей компании United Launch Alliance ракеты-носителя был дан с космодрома на мысе Канаверал в расчетные 01.02 мск в пятницу. Миссия осуществляется для Национального управления по проблемам океана и атмосферы США (NOAA) и NASA.
Первая ступень ракеты-носителя Atlas V оснащена российским ракетным двигателем РД-180, ее отделение произошло в штатном режиме через три минуты после старта ракеты.
Новейший спутник GOES-S, созданный компанией Lockheed Martin, войдет в созвездие спутников, предназначенных для слежения за атмосферными явлениями в Западном полушарии Земли. Как и его близнец, спутник GOES-R, запущенный в 2016 году, он должен значительно улучшить возможности по раннему обнаружению, прогнозированию и мониторингу погоды, повысить эффективность реагирования на стихийные бедствия.
Первый спутник серии GOES был запущен в 1975 году, и с тех пор они являются основным источником метеорологических наблюдений США.

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 3 ч.3 часа назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/969385723114770434)

GOES-S, now separated into transfer orbit, will maneuver to geostationary orbit over the coming days. It will be renamed GOES 17 once operational

ЦитироватьAtlas V GOES-S Launch Highlights

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220286.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedLaunchAlliance) United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 1 мар. 2018 г.

ЦитироватьMedia - Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Supports Critical Weather Forecasting Mission With Second Next-Generation Weather Satellite

NOAA Continues to Advance Current Weather Satellite Constellation with the Successful Launch of GOES-S Satellite

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., March 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A satellite launched today will augment the GOES-16 weather satellite and provide broad coverage with powerful new weather monitoring technology for meteorologists to provide life and property-saving forecasts. Today, at 5:02 p.m. ET, NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite, built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), was launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket and has successfully established communications.

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NOAA's next weather satellite in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R Series, GOES-S, which will be renamed GOES-17 upon reaching geostationary orbit, will be positioned to boost forecast accuracy for the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii. With data from GOES-17, and the already operational GOES-16, the two satellites will observe most of the Western Hemisphere. These satellites will continue to deliver dazzling weather data that has captivated forecasters such as first-of-its-kind lightning mapping and high-definition views of weather systems. This sophisticated information will support short-term weather forecasts and severe storm warnings, maritime forecasts, and space weather predictions. Additionally, the technology will improve hurricane tracking and intensity forecasts, increase thunderstorm and tornado warning lead time and improve wildfire detection.

"GOES-S increases the coverage of our nation and will contribute to the quality and timeliness of weather data – but it is also more than that." said Tim Gasparrini, GOES-R vice president and program manager at Lockheed Martin Space. "As is evident with the performance of GOES-16 on orbit, we are gaining insight into our weather like never before. The extended application of this data is expected to have a large impact on industries like shipping and logistics, aviation, transportation and more."

Lockheed Martin designed, built and tested the satellite and is responsible for spacecraft launch processing. In addition to all four GOES-R Series satellites (R, S, T and U), Lockheed Martin also designed and built the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) and the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instruments that will fly aboard each spacecraft.

NOAA funds, manages and plans to operate the GOES-R Series satellites. NASA oversees the acquisition and development of the GOES-R Series spacecraft, instruments and launch vehicle for NOAA. NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center is responsible for launch management. The program is co-located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

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ЦитироватьWeather satellite for the West Coast launched fr om Cape Canaveral
March 2, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/03/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144127.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

A weather satellite set to bring new storm tracking capabilities to the western United States and the Pacific Ocean rode into space atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket Thursday.

Kicking off a 15-year service life, the 11,488-pound (5,211-kilogram) robotic weather observer lifted off at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) Thursday fr om Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad.

Mounted on top of a 197-foot-tall (60-meter) Atlas 5 launcher, NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite vaulted away fr om Cape Canaveral after a trouble-free countdown, keeping a launch date assigned nearly one year ago.

Sporting four Aerojet Rocketdyne strap-on solid rocket motors and a Russian-made RD-180 main engine, the Atlas 5 rocket climbed through a mostly sunny sky, darting through puffy clouds and leaving a twisting exhaust plume in its wake as the launcher departed to the east from Florida's Space Coast on 2.1 million pounds of thrust.

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The Atlas 5 surpassed the speed of sound in 35 seconds, and its four solid rocket boosters burned out and jettisoned at T+plus 1 minute, 50 seconds. About a minute-and-a-half later, the Atlas 5's nose cone, built by Ruag Space in Switzerland, jettisoned as the rocket soared above the aerodynamic friction from the dense lower layers of the atmosphere.

Burning almost a ton of kerosene and liquid oxygen propellant per second, the RD-180 engine continued firing until nearly four-and-a-half minutes into the mission. Moments later, the booster stage dropped away to fall into the Atlantic Ocean, and an RL10C-1 upper stage engine ignited for the first of three burns on Thursday's flight.

The first firing ended around 12 minutes after liftoff to reach a preliminary low-altitude parking orbit, and the second RL10 burn ignited 10 minutes later to propel the GOES-S weather satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit ranging more than 20,000 miles above Earth.

The battery-powered Centaur upper stage coasted three hours, rising in altitude until it reached a predetermined point thousands of miles over Australia, wh ere the RL10 engine reignited for a 95-second maneuver to nudge the GOES-S satellite closer to the equator.

An engineer monitoring telemetry from the rocket announced separation of the GOES-S satellite from the Centaur stage at 8:34 p.m. EST (0134 GMT), prompting applause inside the Atlas Space Operations Center at Cape Canaveral.

Video from an on-board camera replayed through a Guam ground station showed the GOES-S spacecraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, deploying from the Centaur stage.

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969408570318929920/pu/vid/640x360/HnMQ_wwE85X5O85h.mp4 (https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969408570318929920/pu/vid/640x360/HnMQ_wwE85X5O85h.mp4)
(video (https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/969408570318929920/pu/vid/640x360/HnMQ_wwE85X5O85h.mp4) 0:35)

Ground controllers confirmed the GOES-S spacecraft completed a partial extension of its solar arrays, as planned, shortly after release from the Atlas 5 rocket in an on-target orbit.

Data transmitted from the Atlas 5 indicated it placed GOES-S in an orbit between 5,095 miles (8,200 kilometers) and 21,928 miles (35,289 kilometers) in altitude, tilted at an angle of 9.5 degrees to the equator.

Those parameters amounted to a near-perfect bullseye.

"This was smooth," said Tim Dunn, NASA's launch director for the GOES-S mission. "They don't all come this way, but when they do, we truly appreciate them."

NASA provides launch and spacecraft expertise for NOAA's weather satellites.

Thursday's mission marked the 76th successful flight by an Atlas 5 rocket in the same number of tries, and the 147th success in a row for an Atlas-Centaur launcher since 1993.

"Thank you to our partners at NASA and NOAA for the outstanding teamwork, as we delivered this next-generation satellite to orbit," said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of government and commercial programs. "We are proud to serve as the ultimate launch provider, continuing our dedication to 100 percent mission success."

But the fiery launch from Florida's Space Coast was just the beginning for GOES-S, which will spend the coming months moving into its final orbital perch, completing checkouts, and finally entering service later this year.

The satellite will join a sister observatory, GOES-16, launched in November 2016 and now providing real-time weather imagery over the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the eastern United States.

The twin spacecraft, the first two in NOAA's GOES-R series, each carry six instruments to monitor weather on Earth and in space, including an imager that can see more detail and collect pictures more rapidly than NOAA's past weather satellites.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144177.jpg)
NOAA operates two satellites in the GOES-West and GOES-East positions in geostationary orbit, plus spares. Credit: NOAA

GOES-S's on-board engine, built by the Japanese company IHI, will fire six times over the next 10 days, beginning Saturday, to nudge the satellite toward its geostationary orbit destination. A final maneuver 14 days after launch will stop the satellite's orbital drift over the Americas, setting up for a series of tests at a position at 90 degrees west longitude.

The power-generating solar panel will be fully extended around 12 days after launch, once GOES-S reaches its planned circular orbit nearly 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) over the equator.

At that altitude, GOES-S's speed will keep pace with Earth's rotation, allowing it to hover over the same place on the planet day and night.

The satellite's X-band antenna will be deployed 18 days after launch, and an auxiliary S-band and L-band antenna wing will be extended 19 days after liftoff, according to Tim Gasparrini, GOES-R program manager at Lockheed Martin.

The boom holding GOES-S's magnetometer instrument will be deployed 20 days after launch, and then controllers will begin configuring the satellite's weather instruments for observations, including a month of outgassing to ensure the sensors are free of contaminants that might have been carried from Earth.

Tim Walsh, acting director of the GOES-R program at NOAA, said the new weather satellite will be ready to move to its final operating post at 137 degrees west longitude around six months after launch to begin tracking storms over the western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, and Latin America.

Once in geostationary orbit, NOAA will rename GOES-S as GOES-17.

"GOES-S, our latest and greatest, will complete the implementation of high-resolution coverage of the entire country, delivering better observations faster than ever before. GOES-S will become GOES-West and keep an eye on the weather patterns that impact the West," said Joe Pica, director of the National Weather Service's Office of Observations.

The GOES satellites, launched in series since 1975, are the "backbone of weather and climate forecasts," said Stephen Volz, director of NOAA's satellite and information services.

Imagery from the GOES satellites are featured in weather broadcasts and used as a primary forecasting tool by meteorologists across the Western Hemisphere, helping track tropical cyclones and tornado-spawning severe storms, plus monitoring for snow and ice cover, wildfires and fog that threaten transportation and property.

The newest family of GOES satellites, beginning with GOES-16 launched in 2016, offer a "quantum leap" in capability over NOAA's earlier generations of geostationary weather observatories, Volz said in a briefing with reporters Tuesday.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144171.jpg)
A side-by-side comparison of images captured by GOES-16, a clone of GOES-S already in orbit, and a previous-generation GOES weather satellite. Credit: NOAA

The Advanced Baseline Imager on the latest four GOES satellites can return scans of an entire hemisphere once every 15 minutes, half the time needed by one of NOAA's earlier geostationary spacecraft. The imager can scan the continental United States once every 5 minutes.

The new ABI-equipped satellites can return pictures of hotspots like hurricanes at a cadence of once every 30 seconds, an improvement from the five-minute rapid scans available today.

"These satellites are giving us the ability to look at storms as often as every 30 seconds, allowing forecasters to see storms as they're developing instead of as they've already happened," Walsh said.

The imager, built by Harris Corp. in Fort Wayne, Indiana, can simultaneously scan the broader hemisphere in its field-of-view and capture close-up views of individual storm systems, giving forecasters refreshed views of hurricanes and tornado outbreaks.

The ABI can see in 16 visible and infrared channels, yielding deeper insights into moisture levels and cloud types unavailable with previous weather satellite images. Earlier GOES satellites had imagers sensitive to five different parts of the light spectrum.

The upgrade allows meteorologists to distinguish between snow, fog, clouds, volcanic ash, and other particles suspended in the atmosphere.

"GOES-16, even beyond its spectacular imagery, is already proving to be a game changer with much more refined, higher quality data for faster and more accurate weather forecasts and warnings," said Ajay Mehta, acting deputy assistant administrator for systems at NOAA's satellite and information service. "This means more lives are saved and better environment intelligence for state and local officials, who, for example, may need to make decisions about when to call for evacuations ahead of life-threatening wildfires."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144113.jpg)
Artist's concept of the GOES-S satellite in orbit. Credit: Lockheed Martin

"The ABI, one of the instruments, is able to detect small fires before they get too large, sometimes before people even dial 911," said Dan Lindsey, senior science advisor to the GOES-R program at NOAA.

"National Weather Service forecasters will use GOES-S to monitor atmospheric, river and estimate rainfall associated with the most intense storms," Pica said. "It wil help us track plumes from volcanic eruptions and see more clearly the total evolution of Pacific Ocean tropical storms."

Before officials declared it operational, GOES-16 recorded detailed views of powerful hurricanes last year churning in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

GOES-16 tracked movements of Hurricane Harvey as it approached the Texas coast and dropped inundating rainfall over Houston, then watched as Hurricane Irma struck Florida and Hurricane Maria made a devastating landfall in Puerto Rico.

NOAA made GOES-16 operational in the so-called "GOES-East" position at the equator over 75 degrees west longitude in December.

The new GOES imager is sensitive enough to chart fog building and dissipating near airports, helping air traffic controllers route airplanes around bad visibility.

"The new satellite will augment observations over the Pacific Ocean and around mountain ranges wh ere radar coverage is limited or blocked," Pica said. "Marine forecasts will improve with GOES-S high-resolution imagery as we see features in the atmosphere and ocean that previous instruments did not allow. Combining these images with rapid updates every 30 seconds will help us predict storm systems more accurately and in real time."

GOES-S will also get a better look at ice flows and other seasonal weather patterns in Alaska, officials said, allowing forecasters there to use more GOES satellite data in their daily outlooks. In the past, forecasters in Alaska could not count on the highest-quality imagery from GOES satellites because of their oblique viewing angle from equatorial orbit.

Like its predecessor already in space, GOES-S carries a detector to locate in-cloud, cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning strikes day or night, giving weather forecasters an inventory of the location, frequency and intensity of lightning activity that could help warn the public of severe storms.

The lightning detector on GOES-16 has pinpointed 13 billion lightning strikes since its launch less than 16 months ago.

Other instruments on GOES-S will look at the sun and chart solar radiation output and solar flares, which affect conditions in Earth's upper atmosphere and generate geomagnetic storms, leading to possible disruptions in communications, navigation and electrical infrastructure.

An ultraviolet solar camera fitted to a telescope on GOES-S will take full disk images of the sun.

A magnetometer and space environment sensor will measure particles and electric fields in space, providing data on charging conditions that could damage other satellites.

GOES-S also hosts a transponder to receive faint distress beacons anywhere on Earth that is visible to the spacecraft. The signals will be relayed to search-and-rescue forces on the ground.

With two modernized satellites in geostationary orbit, NOAA officials said forecasters from New Zealand to West Africa, and from Canada to Patagonia, will have a critical new tool at their fingertips. A pair of Japanese Himawari satellite launched in 2014 and 2016 carry the same type of advanced imager as the new GOES craft, extending the improved coverage into the Asia-Pacific region.

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Two more satellites in the GOES-R program — GOES-T and GOES-U — are in assembly at Lockheed Martin's factory in Denver for launches in 2020 and 2024.

NOAA has budgeted $11 billion for the program, a figure that includes the four spacecraft, weather instruments, launch services and ground systems.

Gasparrini said the build-up of the GOES-T satellite is well underway in Denver, and pieces of the GOES-U satellite are arriving. Officials intend to finish both spacecraft as soon as possible to keep the assembly line going without disruption, and GOES-U will likely go into storage for a few years before its launch.

Launchers for the GOES-T and GOES-U missions have not been sel ected by NASA, but ULA and SpaceX are expected to compete for the contracts.

The quartet of new GOES satellites replace a previous generation of weather observers built by Boeing and launched between 2006 and 2010. The GOES-R series should keep NOAA's geostationary weather satellites active through 2036.

NOAA also has a fleet of polar-orbiting weather satellites circling a few hundred miles above Earth, providing vital data inputs to numerical models that predict conditions up to a week in advance. The agency's newest polar-orbiting satellite, JPSS 1, launched in November from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

ULA will return the Atlas 5 rocket's mobile platform to the company's hangar near the Complex 41 launch pad in the coming days, wh ere ground crews will begin preparing for the workhorse launcher's next mission from Cape Canaveral set for launch April 12.

The next Atlas 5 launch, codenamed "AFSPC-11" will send the U.S. Air Force's EAGLE satellite into geostationary orbit using the most powerful variant of the rocket with five strap-on solid-fueled boosters.

EAGLE hosts five military experiments, according to Defense Department budget documents, including a deployable sub-satellite named MYCROFT that will conduct an unspecified mission on geostationary orbit.

The four-hour launch period April 12 extends from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT (2200-0200 GMT on April 12-13).

The next launch from Cape Canaveral will be a Falcon 9 rocket flight expected to lift off next week fr om the Complex 40 launch pad with the Spanish Hispasat 30W-6 communications satellite.

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Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67516.jpg)Jonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 4 ч.4 часа назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/969798151375814656)

GOES-S and Centaur AV-077 tracked in 8241 x 35285 km x 9.5 deg, 7631 x 34950 km x 9.8 deg orbits

Цитировать
(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/3690274890/9b0cd1e029225df94a2daecc6565010d_bigger.png) (https://twitter.com/MCO)Orlando International Airport@MCO (https://twitter.com/MCO)·16 ч
 (https://twitter.com/MCO/status/969688067966754817)
Awesome moment captured in Orlando of @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch)'s Atlas V rocket launch as @FlyFrontier (https://twitter.com/FlyFrontier)'s Buck the Pronghorn looks on from the sky.

ЦитироватьPhotos: Atlas V Leaps Off From Florida with GOES-S
March 2, 2018 (http://spaceflight101.com/photos-atlas-v-leaps-off-from-florida-with-goes-s/)

A United Launch Alliance thundered off from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 at 22:02 UTC on March 1st, 2018 with the GOES-S weather satellite. Punching into the afternoon clouds over Florida's Space Coast, Atlas V embarked on a three-and-a-half hour mission taking it halfway around the globe to send the 5,200-Kilogram satellite on its way to become the second in the fourth-generation of GOES satellites to enter operation alongside GOES-R that launched in 2016 and has already proven the new spacecraft's upgrades by watching over the 2017 hurricane season.

>> Read our Launch Recap (http://spaceflight101.com/goes-r/atlas-v-launches-goes-s-weather-satellite/)

All Photos below: United Launch Alliance

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154257.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/40522763852_ab0cb52d4a_o.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154259.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/40522766652_aaef4d0ea6_o.jpg)

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All Photos below: Erik Kuna, erikkuna.com (http://erikkuna.com/)

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154285.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GOES-S_Launch_fromPad-10.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154288.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154288.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154287.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GOES-S_Launch_fromPad-13-1.jpg)

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154289.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GOES-S_Launch_fromPad-2.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154292.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GOES-S_LaunchVAB-10-1.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154293.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GOES-S_LaunchVAB-1.jpg)

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Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/32932.jpg)Scott Tilley‏ @coastal8049 (https://twitter.com/coastal8049) 30 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/coastal8049/status/970038668386816008)

#GOES17 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES17?src=hash) passed through apogee at ~1935 UTC and no change of orbit noted. Just prior to reaching apogee ~1832 UTC TT&C unlocked from the ground and has been in that state since. If #GOES16 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES16?src=hash) can be used as model first manoeuvre should happen perhaps on next apogee?
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174396.png)

ЦитироватьPhotos: Atlas 5 blasts off with GOES-S weather satellite
March 6, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/03/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

NOAA's newest weather satellite, heading for a perch with coverage over the western United States and the Pacific Ocean, launched March 1 from Cape Canaveral on top of an Atlas 5 rocket.

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The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket, built by United Launch Alliance, lifted off at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) on March 1 from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad. The Lockheed Martin-built GOES-S weather satellite rode the Atlas 5 rocket into orbit.

These photos show the rocket lifting off with more than 2 million pounds of thrust from a liquid-fueled RD-180 main engine and four solid rocket boosters.

Read our full story (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/03/02/weather-satellite-for-the-west-coast-launched-from-cape-canaveral/) on the launch for details.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144059.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144126.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144213.jpg)
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144129.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144209.jpg)
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144125.jpg)
Credit: NASA/Bill White

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144104.jpg)
Credit: Lockheed Martin

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144215.jpg)
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

IMG WIDTH=675 HEIGHT=1013]https://mk0spaceflightnoa02a.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/39853231794_1288f68767_k.jpg[/IMG]
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

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Credit: Lockheed Martin

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144127.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144216.jpg)
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

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Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144130.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

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Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

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ЦитироватьAtlas V GOES-S: Aerial Views Leading to Launch

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220286.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedLaunchAlliance)  United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 6 мар. 2018 г.

ЦитироватьAtlas V GOES-S Rocket Cam

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220286.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedLaunchAlliance)  United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 9 мар. 2018 г.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186276.jpg)NOAA Satellites‏Подлинная учетная запись @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) 51 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/973278448922832897)

Today is a big day for our #GOESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESS?src=hash) satellite, it has reached geostationary orbit and has officially received a new name...#GOES17 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES17?src=hash)! After a checkout of its instruments and systems it will capture this view for us in the GOES West position. Learn more: https://goo.gl/D4PddL  (https://t.co/f5LTejz3H2)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174503.jpg)

ЦитироватьNew NOAA weather satellite reaches geostationary orbit
March 12, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/03/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144113.jpg)
Artist's concept of the GOES-17 satellite in orbit. Credit: Lockheed Martin

Less than two weeks after its launch from Cape Canaveral, a new NOAA weather observatory has boosted itself into a circular orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator, and officials have renamed it GOES-17 ahead of a test series before it enters service later this year.

NOAA traditionally switches from a letter to a number designation for its weather satellites after they reach their operational geostationary orbit. This time, the GOES-S satellite became GOES-17.

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"Today is a big day for the GOES-S satellite," NOAA said in a statement. "It has reached geostationary orbit (22,300 miles out in space) and has now officially received a new name...GOES-17! The satellite will be called GOES-17 for the remainder of its lifespan. GOES satellites are designated with a letter prior to launch and a number once they achieve geostationary orbit."

GOES-17 will begin collecting operational weather data over the western United States and the Pacific Ocean before the end of 2018, officials said.

Since its liftoff March 1 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the GOES-S satellite has fired its Japanese-built main engine several times to circularize its orbit from an initial elliptical transfer orbit to a circular perch nearly 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) above the equator. At that altitude, the spacecraft's movement maintains pace with Earth's rotation, giving it a fixed field-of-view.

GOES-17 should complete its final deployments in the coming days, beginning with the second stage unfurling of its solar arrays Tuesday. The power-generating solar wing completed an initial deployment step a few hours after launch.

Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the satellite will also extend antennas to transmit and receive X-band, S-band and L-band signals, and finally deploy a magnetometer boom fitted with sensors to measure the magnetic field around the satellite, data that could help predict geomagnetic storms and other space weather disruptions.

GOES-17 will maneuver into a checkout position in geostationary orbit at 89.5 degrees west longitude later this month. Post-launch testing and calibration should begin March 26, and the first imagery from GOES-17 is expected in mid-May, NOAA said.

"GOES-17 will undergo a six-month on-orbit checkout of its instruments and systems, followed by operational handover procedures," NOAA said in a statement. "The satellite move to its operational location at 137 degrees west longitude in late 2018 and become NOAA's GOES West."

NOAA's newest weather satellite joins an identical craft named GOES-16, which launched in November 2016 and entered service in the GOES East position in December, providing real-time weather imagery over the eastern United States and hurricane zones in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.

With GOES-16 and GOES-17 operating in tandem, forecasters will have sharper, more frequent views of storms, fog, wildfires and other phenomena ranging from New Zealand to the west coast of Africa.

The latest pair of GOES weather satellites, plus two more due for launch in 2020 and 2024, carry upgraded imagers that can see clouds, lightning, fog, smoke and ash in the atmosphere in much greater resolution and spectral detail than earlier weather observatories. The imagers also return pictures of storms with greater frequency — as often as every 30 seconds.

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Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186180.jpg)υѕα ѕαт¢σм‏ @usa_satcom (https://twitter.com/usa_satcom) 21 мар. (https://twitter.com/usa_satcom/status/976323824110022656)


GOES-17 this evening around 89W with a good TLM signal on 1693 MHz.

ЦитироватьGOES-S Atlas V Launch in 360

NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 22 мар. 2018 г.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg)Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 7 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/999298019462823938)

NOAA says it's dealing with "a performance issue with the cooling system encountered during commissioning of the GOES-17 Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI)instrument." More details in a media telecon at noon EDT today.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg)Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 50 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/999328901171036161)

Summary of NOAA GOES-17 media call: cooling issue affects near-IR and IR bands for part of the day; still investigating the problem and potential impacts to forecasting if it can't be fixed.

ЦитироватьNOAA's new GOES-17 weather satellite has degraded vision at night
May 23, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144418.jpg)
Artist's illustration of the GOES-17 satellite in space. Credit: Lockheed Martin

Engineers are studying a malfunction with the main imaging instrument on NOAA's GOES-17 weather satellite, launched March 1, that could limit the observatory's ability to monitor storms, winds and other weather phenomena at night, officials said Wednesday.

A cooling system aboard the satellite is unable to chill infrared detectors inside the Advanced Baseline Imager on GOES-17 to proper temperatures, degrading the camera's performance.

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The imager is designed to be sensitive to light in 16 channels, including 13 infrared and near-infrared wavelengths, and three colors in the visible spectrum. The thermal control anomaly currently under investigation affects the 13 infrared and near-infrared channels, according to Steve Volz, assistant administrator for NOAA's satellite and information service.

"This is a serious problem," Volz said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters. "This is the premier Earth-pointing instrument on the GOES platform, and 16 channels, of which 13 are infrared or near-infrared, are important elements of our observing requirements, and if they are not functioning fully, it is a loss. It is a performance issue we have to address."

Detectors for the infrared channels must be cooled to around 60 Kelvin (minus 351 degrees Fahrenheit) to make them fully sensitive to infrared light coming fr om Earth's atmosphere. For about 12 hours each day, the cooler inside the Advanced Baseline Imager, or ABI, is unable to chill the detectors to such cold temperatures, officials said.

Infrared images fr om weather satellites are used to monitor storms at night, when darkness renders visible imagery unavailable. The three visible channels fr om the ABI are not affected by the cooling problem.

"The other wavelengths, the near-infrared and infrared wavelengths — the other 13 — need to be cooled to some extent beyond the capability of the system at present," said Tim Walsh, NOAA's program manager for the GOES-R weather satellite series. "There's a portion of the day centered around satellite local midnight where the data is not usable, and that's what we're addressing."

GOES-17 is parked in geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator, where the satellite circles Earth at the same rate of the planet's rotation, giving its instruments a fixed field-of-view. Since its launch March 1 from Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas 5 rocket, GOES-17 has activated its other sensors, including a lightning detector and space weather payloads, without any problems to begin a planned six-month test campaign.

But the ABI is the centerpiece instrument on GOES-17.

Designed and built by Harris Corp. in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the imager is intended to provide satellite imagery of clouds, cyclones, storm fronts, fog, wildfires and other phenomena for use by forecasters. It's the same imagery that is regularly broadcast on television weather reports.

An identical satellite named GOES-16 launched in November 2016, and it entered service late last year after a thorough checkout. GOES-16, known as GOES-R before launch, was the first if four modernized weather satellites developed in an $11 billion program by NOAA.

GOES-16 covers the eastern United States, the Atlantic Ocean and South America, with coverage extending to West Africa to track low pressure systems that could form tropical storms and hurricanes. The launch of GOES-17, previously named GOES-S, followed in March, and NOAA said the new satellite would begin observations by the end of the year to provide coverage over the western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, and the Pacific Ocean extending to New Zealand.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144420.jpg)
The Advanced Baseline Imager on NOAA's GOES-16 satellite, which is identical to GOES-17, is fully operational. This image from GOES-16 was captured in March. Credit: NOAA

Joe Pica, director of operations at NOAA's National Weather Service, said meteorologists also feed infrared data from GOES satellites into numerical weather prediction models, providing upper level and mid-level wind inputs and water vapor measurements to help improve the accuracy of forecasters. Those infrared observations are required not just at night, but all day.

"If efforts to restore the cooling system are not successful, we are looking at alternative concepts and different modes to maximize the operational utility of this ABI for NOAA's National Weather Service and other customers going forward," Volz said.

NOAA's GOES-15 weather satellite, launched in 2010, is currently operating in the "GOES-West" location wh ere GOES-17 was destined. The weather agency also has a backup spacecraft, the nearly nine-year-old GOES-14 satellite, in standby mode, ready to take over if one of the operational observatories fails.

"We have two spacecraft that we could use to augment whatever we do in the GOES-West area," Walsh said.

"Our delivery of services is not impacted," Volz said. "It's our future capability that we would have enhanced by the extra performance of GOES-17 to be delivered in the coming year that is on the table right now for discussion."

The Advanced Baseline Imager carried on NOAA's new generation of GOES weather satellites can capture more vivid views of storms than cameras aboard older weather craft, and record images quicker.

The ABI can return scans of an entire hemisphere once every 15 minutes, half the time needed by one of NOAA's earlier geostationary spacecraft. The imager can scan the continental United States once every 5 minutes.

The new ABI-equipped satellites can return pictures of hotspots like hurricanes at a cadence of once every 30 seconds, an improvement from the five-minute rapid scans available today. The imager can simultaneously scan the broader hemisphere in its field-of-view and capture close-up views of individual storm systems, giving forecasters refreshed views of hurricanes and tornado outbreaks.

The 16-channel ABI can yield deeper insights into moisture levels and cloud types unavailable with previous weather satellite images. Earlier GOES satellites had imagers sensitive to five different parts of the light spectrum.

The upgrade allows meteorologists to distinguish between snow, fog, clouds, volcanic ash, and other particles suspended in the atmosphere.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144403.jpg)
Technicians install the Advanced Baseline Imager on the GOES-S weather satellite, now named GOES-17, before its launch. Credit: Lockheed Martin

Engineers continue investigating the cause of the cooling system malfunction inside GOES-17's imager, and officials remained hopeful Wednesday that the problem could be corrected, or at least mitigated.

"We're treating this very seriously with a multi-agency and contractor technical team to try and undertand the anomaly and find ways to start the engine, if you will, of the cooling system to function properly," Volz said. "Doing this remotely from 22,000 miles below, only looking at the on-orbit data, is a challenge," Volz said.

"What we're seeing on (GOES) 17 is that we can only achieve that (60 Kelvin) operating temperature about half of the day ... Over the couse of the orbit, we see different thermal conditions, different sun conditions that change how hot the instrument gets," said Pam Sullivan, GOES-R flight project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "During the hot part of the orbit, the thermal load increases to the point that we're not able to cool the detectors down."

The instrument is hottest while the satellite is over the night side of Earth because the sun is positioned off the limb of the planet, and shining in the camera's aperture.

The cooler is supposed to transfer heat from the instrument and discharge it to space via a heat pipe and a radiator. The thermal system works by cycling a fluid named propylene between the ABI instrument and the radiator. Engineers think they have narrowed the problem to the heat pipe/radiator system.

"The problem is that the cryocooler, the mechanical cooler, is overheating because the heat pipes that transport heat from the cryocooler to the external radiator, that heat pipe/radiator system does not seem to be working as intended right now," Sullivan said.

Investigators are examining the performance from the identical imager on GOES-16, as well as similar imagers on Japan's Himawari 8 and 9 weather satellites, which were also built by Harris and are working normally.

"People have dug in, we're not even close to out of ideas," she said. "There are lots of lines of inquiry of things that could be the problem and lots of ideas about things to try to address those, and also a lot of work about what can we do to improve the situation, even if the thermal performance doesn't improve."

Even if engineers are unable to get the cooling system to full functionality, Volz said GOES-17's imager would still be "partially usable."

"The worst-case scenario does not mean we don't have any channels in infrared," Volz said. "We are getting degraded performance on the infrared and near-infrared channels, not zero performance but degraded."

"We're trying to assess what exactly the performance is, and the visible (channels) are working quite well," he said. "We still have a highly capable functioning spacecraft and mission, even under the current operating conditions that we're seeing in the initial test period."

But reduced performance could prevent forecasters from relying on the satellite as the primary weather sentinel over a broad segment of the United States and neighboring waters.

"Whether we fix it completely or we do not fix it completely, how do we maximize the mission? I think that's wh ere the team is focusing right now," Walsh said.

NOAA has two more GOES satellites — GOES-T and GOES-U — set for launch in the coming years. They will host the same type of Advanced Baseline Imager as GOES-17.

Volz said it was too early to say whether NOAA could move up the GOES-T launch date to replace the observing capacity that GOES-17 was expected to fill.

GOES-T is set for launch in May 2020, followed by GOES-U in 2024. NASA, which oversees the launch of NOAA weather satellites, has not selected launch provider for either mission, but United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rocket and SpaceX's Falcon 9 launcher are expected to compete for the contracts.

The four new-generation GOES spacecraft are manufactured by Lockheed Martin.

"The first thing we need to understand the anomaly and whether or not it affects the other elements, the GOES-T and U spacecraft and missions, because those ABIs are complete and are in our hands," Volz said.

"We have not defined new launch dates. There are some things you can't move up too much. We have prepared GOES-T for a 2020 launch, and at this point it's premature to say wh ere or how we would change that launch date."

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ЦитироватьThe US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released some bad news (https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/content/scientists-investigate-goes-17-advanced-baseline-imager-performance-issue) today: the GOES-17 weather satellite that launched almost two months ago has a cooling problem that could endanger the majority of the satellite's value.
GOES-17 is the second of a new generation of weather satellite to join NOAA's orbital fleet. Its predecessor is covering the US East Coast, with GOES-17 meant to become "GOES-West." While providing higher-resolution images of atmospheric conditions, it also tracks fires, lightning strikes, and solar behavior. It's important that NOAA stays ahead of the loss of dying satellites by launching new satellites that ensure no gap in global coverage ever occurs.
The various instruments onboard the satellite have been put through their paces to make sure everything is working properly before it goes into official operation. Several weeks ago, it became clear that the most important instrument—the Advanced Baseline Imager—had a cooling problem. This instrument images the Earth at a number of different wavelengths, including the visible portion of the spectrum as well as infrared wavelengths that help detect clouds and water vapor content.
The infrared wavelengths are currently offline. The satellite has to be actively cooled for these precision instruments to function, and the infrared wavelengths only work if the sensor stays below 60K—that's about a cool -350°F. The cooling system is only reaching that temperature 12 hours a day. The satellite can still produce visible spectrum images, as well as the solar and lightning monitoring, but it's not a glorious next-gen weather satellite without that infrared data.
According to NOAA's release, the agency is investigating the source of the cooling problem and hoping it can find some sort of fix that improves the system's performance. But NOAA also notes that "if efforts to restore the cooling system are unsuccessful, alternative concepts and modes will be considered to maximize the operational utility of the [Advanced Baseline Imager]."
The "make the best of a bad situation" scenario is far from ideal, though. If GOES-17 doesn't fully come online this fall as planned, it's not like US weather forecasters will be in the dark—the satellites currently covering that portion of the globe are in good shape. That said, GOES-17 was set to be a shiny new toy for forecasters, and any hitch in the satellite succession plan is potentially costly. So here's hoping GOES-17 can just chill.

ЦитироватьT-Zero: Getting GOES-S Ready to Fly

NASA Video (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_aP7p621ATY_yAa8jMqUVA)

Опубликовано: 1 июн. 2018 г.

Go behind the scenes at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and find out what it takes to get a rocket, and its scientific payload, ready to fly.

ЦитироватьGOES-17 Releases 'First Light' Imagery from its Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI)

Thursday, May 31, 2018

The first imagery from NOAA's GOES-17 Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) made its public debut 
today. 

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209292.jpg)
GOES-17 took this stunning, full-disk snapshot of Earth's Western Hemisphere from its checkout position at 12:00 p.m. EDT on May 20, 2018, using the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument. GOES-17 observes Earth from an equatorial vantage point approximately 22,300 miles above the surface. Credit: NOAA/NASA 

To Download the Full Resolution Image (82 MB) Click Here (https://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/NESDIS/site/images/g17_20may18_1800z_geocolor_1kmresolution.jpg)

While experts continue to address an issue with the cooling system of the satellite's imager (https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/content/scientists-investigate-goes-17-advanced-baseline-imager-performance-issue), new views from GOES-17 show that its ABI is providing beautiful – and useful – imagery of the Western Hemisphere. This imagery was created using two visible bands (blue and red) and one near-infrared "vegetation" band that are functional with the current cooling system performance.

The imagery also incorporates input from one of the ABI's "longwave" infrared bands that is functional during a portion of the day despite the cooling system issue.

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When combined as a "GeoColor" image, depicting the Earth in vivid detail and colors intuitive to human vision, these bands provide valuable information for monitoring dust, haze, smoke, clouds, fog, winds and vegetation. ABI imagery also provides information on cloud motion, helping meteorologists monitor and forecast severe weather and hurricanes. The improved resolution and faster scanning ability of the instrument compared to the previous generation of GOES allow forecasters to more rapidly detect and analyze storms as they are developing and intensifying.

GOES-17 is the second in a series of next-generation geostationary weather satellites. Like GOES-16, its sister satellite operating as GOES East, GOES-17 is designed to provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth from 22,300 miles above the equator.

GOES-17 launched on March 1, 2018, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The satellite is currently in its post-launch checkout and testing phase, the period in which its instruments and systems are calibrated, validated and assessed for operational usage. Imagery released from GOES-17 during the post-launch testing phase should be considered preliminary and non-operational.
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ЦитироватьNOAA's GOES-17 Shows Rainfall Rates in Bud

NASA Video (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_aP7p621ATY_yAa8jMqUVA)

Опубликовано: 13 июн. 2018 г.

This animation fades from NOAA's GOES-17 satellite enhanced infrared image to rainfall rates derived from the GPM core satellite. On June 12, 2018 at 7:27 p.m. EDT (2327 UTC) the GPM core satellite found moderate to heavy precipitation was only present in the southeastern quadrant of the weakening hurricane Bud. Heaviest rainfall in the area, of over 78 mm (3.1 inches) per hour, was occurring near the Mexico's coastline well to the northeast of BUD's center of circulation Credit: NASA/JAXA, Hal Pierce

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186128.jpg)SpaceFlight Insider‏ @SpaceflightIns (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightIns) 11 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightIns/status/1007034189177384960)

NOAA releases first images of Sun taken by GOES 17 http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/space-flight-news/noaa-releases-first-images-of-sun-taken-by-goes-17/ ... (https://t.co/GwoVEOg75R)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/165114.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg)Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 13 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1021764625426202626)

NOAA just provided an update on the status of the key instrument on the GOES-17 weather satellite, which the agency said in May was suffering a cooling problem inhibiting its performance at some infrared wavelengths.

12 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1021764819656040448)

NOAA said they've been able to mitigate some of the performance impacts on the ABI instrument, but still see reduced availability in some infrared channels. Root cause investigation is ongoing.

11 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1021765218257588224)

Even if the problem can't be resolved, NOAA officials said they're confident that the spacecraft can still enter service as GOES-West this fall and perform better than current GOES-West spacecraft. May delay GOES-T launch in 2020, though, to resolve the issue.

ЦитироватьNOAA still grappling with instrument problem on new weather satellite
by Jeff Foust (https://spacenews.com/author/jeff-foust/) — July 24, 2018

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/191521.jpg)
NOAA says they have restored some performance in the primary Earth-facing instrument on the GOES-17 (formerly GOES-S) satellite, but have yet to fully correct the problem or determine its root cause. Credit: Lockheed Martin

WASHINGTON — Engineers have made some progress in restoring the performance of the key instrument on a weather satellite launched earlier this year, but have yet to fully correct the problem or determine its root cause, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced July 24.

In a teleconference with reporters, NOAA officials said they had been able to improve the availability of infrared and near-infrared channels on the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument on the GOES-17 satellite since the agency first reported the problem two months ago (https://spacenews.com/new-noaa-weather-satellite-suffers-instrument-anomaly/). The spacecraft, originally known as GOES-S, launched in March.

"ABI is already demonstrating improved performance from what was initially observed," said Pam Sullivan, director of the GOES-R system program. Currently, 13 of the instrument's 16 channels are available 24 hours a day, with the other three able to operate at least 20 hours a day.

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That will change, though, on a seasonal basis, depending on the amount of sunlight that shines into the instrument. By September, the hottest part of the orbit, only 10 of 16 channels will be available 24 hours a day, she said, with the other six available "most of the day."

As one team works to improve the performance of the ABI on GOES-17, another team is tracking down the root cause of the instrument. Sullivan said the issue appears to be with loop heat pipes that contain propylene coolant. "It doesn't seem to be flowing appropriately through the loops," she said.

She said that team has identified a "small handful" of likely causes for the lack of coolant flow. They include "excess non-condensable gas" or foreign object debris in the pipes. "Either one of those might prevent the fluid from traveling though the loop heat pipe as intended," she said. There could also be mechanical damage to the pipes.

When NOAA first announced the problem with the ABI on GOES-17 in May, the agency said they did not see a similar problem with an identical instrument on GOES-16, the first of the GOES-R series of next-generation weather satellites launched in 2016. However, Sullivan said that, since then, engineers have seen "some evidence of reduced functionality" in the loop heat pipes in that spacecraft's ABI, but one that has not affected the performance of the instrument.

Sullivan said, in the case of GOES-16, the problem had existed from the beginning of the mission but was only noticed when engineers took a closer look at the instrument's performance. "There's no signs at this point that the GOES-16 performance is changing now," she said.

NOAA still expects to put GOES-17 into service later this year as GOES-West at 137 degrees west, replacing GOES-15 at that orbital slot. "Even during this checkout phase, GOES-17 is observing with more channels and a higher resolution with more rapid refresh than what we currently have with the current GOES-West satellite," Sullivan said. "While we're not going to get the full GOES-17 functionality, we are going to receive more and better data then we currently have."

NOAA added that it can augment data from other sources, including other GOES satellites as well as from Japanese Himawari satellites, which also have a version of the ABI instrument. The National Weather Service doesn't expect this problem to have an effect on its ability to produce weather forecasts.

"Right now, we have an operational constellation," said Joe Pica, director of the National Weather Service's Office of Observations. "We're able to carry out our mission today without any degradation."

The problem, though, could delay the launch of the next satellite in the series, GOES-T, currently planned for 2020. "We haven't given up on that yet," Sullivan said of that planned launch date. "However, we really need to decide what modifications and what testing we want to do on the GOES-T instruments before we confirm those dates."

"There's no doubt that the problems we are experiencing with the cooling system are disappointing, and not what we expected of GOES-17 when we launched," said Steve Volz, director of NOAA's Satellite and Information Service. "But we are committed to getting this right. We will figure out what happened on GOES-17 so that it doesn't occur again on our other GOES satellites."

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ЦитироватьOct. 2, 2018
RELEASE 18-082

NASA, NOAA Convene GOES 17 Mishap Investigation Board

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/207740.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/goes_17_launch_image.jpg)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S. Launch was at 5:02 p.m. EST, March 1, 2018.
Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have appointed a board to investigate an instrument anomaly aboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) 17 weather satellite currently in orbit.

During postlaunch testing of the satellite's Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument, it was discovered that the instrument's infrared detectors cannot be maintained at their required operating temperatures under certain seasonal and orbital conditions, resulting in a loss of approximately three percent of the instrument's availability over the course of a year. This loss exceeds a key design requirement.

NASA and NOAA senior leadership have determined the need to convene the mishap investigation board, which will work to determine the root or proximate cause of the anomaly and identify actions to prevent occurrences on future satellites. The board will begin its work as soon as possible.

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David McGowan, chief engineer at NASA's Langley Research Center, will chair the five-member board. The other four members are:

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• Dr. Joel Lachter, human factors investigator, NASA's Ames Research Center
• Rich Slywczak, safety officer, NASA's Glenn Research Center
• Hank Rotter, NASA Engineering and Safety Center technical fellow for active thermal systems, NASA's Johnson Space Center
• Julie Grantier, senior technical lead for systems engineering, NASA's Glenn Research Center
  

GOES-17 is one of several next-generation weather satellites in the GOES-R series, including GOES-16, which currently serves as the operational geostationary weather satellite over the U.S. East coast. Later this year, GOES-17 will become operational as the GOES West satellite. Two additional satellites, GOES-T and GOES-U, are currently in development. The advanced instrument technology used on these satellites is contributing to more timely and accurate weather forecasts and warnings.

The GOES-R Series program is a collaborative effort between NOAA, NASA and industry partners. NOAA manages the GOES-R Series program through an integrated NOAA/NASA office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA also oversees the acquisition of the spacecraft, instruments and launch vehicles. Mission operations are performed by NOAA at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland.

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Last Updated: Oct. 2, 2018
Editor: Sean Potter

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186276.jpg)NOAA Satellites‏Подлинная учетная запись @NOAASatellites (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites) 5:48 (https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/1062341340263002112) - 13 нояб. 2018 г.

Journey complete! Today #GOES17 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES17?src=hash) finished drifting to its new orbital position at 137.2 degrees west longitude. In a few days we'll start seeing the first new images out of Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific from the satellite's new home. Learn more: http://go.usa.gov/xPQPc  (https://t.co/qYZA5D6jve)

https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/drift_GOES15_GOES17_Nov2018_noaa-2.mp4 (https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/drift_GOES15_GOES17_Nov2018_noaa-2.mp4) (0:16 (https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/drift_GOES15_GOES17_Nov2018_noaa-2.mp4))

ЦитироватьNOAA Targets January 2019 to Declare GOES-17 Operational

Thursday, December 6, 2018

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209293.png)
On Nov. 13, 2018, at 4 p.m. ET, GOES-17 captured this GeoColor view of the Earth from its new orbital position over the Pacific Ocean.
 
On November 20, 2018, technicians observed an error from NOAA's GOES-17 Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) – unrelated to the ongoing issues with the loop heat pipe (https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/content/noaa-gives-update-goes-17-abi) – that resulted in degraded infrared imagery.

The technicians determined that a recent update to software that controls the ABI cryocooler system (which pumps heat away from the instrument's detectors to cool them to their required operating temperatures) caused a memory error. Automated safety checks onboard detected the error and initiated shutdown of the cryocooler, according to procedure.

The cryocooler operation is restored now, with no additional degraded imagery as a result of the error.

Engineers are testing a permanent software solution that should conclude in January 2019. Once the fix is confirmed, NOAA will declare GOES-17 the new GOES West satellite.

ЦитироватьGOES-17 satellite launched in March 2018. During on-orbit checkout, NOAA discovered ABI's infrared channels were not working as designed (https://spacenews.com/new-noaa-weather-satellite-suffers-instrument-anomaly/) because of cooling problems.
Specifically, the loop heat pipes, built by ATK, now part of Northrop Grumman, for Exelis, now part of Harris Corp., to transfer heat to the radiator, were unable to adequately cool the imager's infrared and near infrared channels for approximately 12 hours a day.
Many of those problems have been resolved. GOES-17's ABI is expected to deliver about 97 percent of the data it was built to collect, according to Harris and Lockheed Martin officials attending the American Meteorological Society conference here. NOAA planned to share details at the conference of work to optimize ABI performance, fill remaining data gaps with other satellites and evaluate the impact of the ABI anomaly on customers. That presentation was cancelled due to the government shutdown.