NOAA's Newest Weather Satellite

NOAA's Newest Weather Satellite Is Headed to Space This Week

NOAA's GOES-S satellite will cover the Western U.S. and Pacific Ocean and provide high-resolution data to meteorologists.

By Avery Thompson

 LOCKHEED MARTIN

Weather is complicated and ever-changing, and in order to predict what it will look like our scientists are going to need the best tools. Especially in recent years, when climate change has triggered all kinds of strange and severe weather events, which makes those climate prediction harder and the tools more essential.


One of the most crucial tools for meteorologists is data from weather satellites, and this week a next-generation satellite will be launching to provide high-definition data on weather patterns for a significant chunk of the globe. NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite has been attached to an Atlas V rocket and is ready for launch on March 1.

NOAA is putting the satellite into space in order to update its network of weather satellites, most of which were launched years ago. GOES-S, along with the other satellites in the GOES constellation, will provide a much clearer and more accurate picture of the weather.

In particular, GOES-S provides a camera capable of differentiating between clouds, smoke, fog, and snow cover, and has a refresh rate five times faster than previous satellites. “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,” said NOAA’s acting director Tim Walsh to Spaceflight Now.

Once in orbit, GOES-S will be renamed GOES-17 and join GOES-16—launched in 2016—to cover half the globe. After about seven months of testing by NASA, GOES-17 will be turned over to NOAA and begin officially sending back weather data. The two GOES satellites will cover the Atlantic and Pacific oceans along with North and South America.

With these new satellites, the GOES network will have its lifetime extended to 2036, with GOES-17 scheduled for a 15-year mission to give meteorologists even better data on weather patterns and make them better equipped to predict storms, hurricanes, and other severe weather events.

Source: Spaceflight Now