During a pre-launch briefing on Nov. 17, officials from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), discussed the status of GOES-R, the first spacecraft in a new series of NASA-built advanced geostationary weather satellites. GOES-R is set to launch into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on Nov. 19, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Once in geostationary orbit, GOES-R will be known as GOES-16 and will provide images of weather patterns and severe storms as regularly as every five minutes or as frequently as every 30 seconds. These images can be used to aid in weather forecasts, severe weather outlooks, watches and warnings, lightning conditions, maritime forecasts and aviation forecasts. It also will assist in longer term forecasting, such as in seasonal predictions and drought outlooks.
