Paola Tristan Arruda
Anchor
New NOAA weather satellite set to launch Tuesday from Florida Space Coast
COURSE, IT LANDED ON A DRONE SHIP IN THE ATLANTIC. BUT FIRST ON OUR SPACE COAST, A FALCON HEAVY ROCKET IS SET TO LAUNCH THE GOES-U MISSION, CARRYING A WEATHER SATELLITE INTO ORBIT. THE LAUNCH IS SET FOR JUST AFTER 5:00 TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAT DOWN WITH WESH TWO TO DISCUSS SOME OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGY ON THAT SATELLITE. PAOLA TRISTAN ARUDA EXPLAINS HOW IT’S GOING TO HELP WITH FORECASTING MOVING FORWARD. IT’S THE NEWEST AND FINAL ADDITION TO NOAA’S GOES-R SERIES OF SATELLITES. GOES-U WILL BE LAUNCHED INTO SPACE, PROVIDING DATA AND MONITORING SPACE WEATHER. IT’S REALLY GEOSTATIONARY OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE. IT STAYS RIGHT ABOVE ABOVE OUR HEAD. THAT MEANS IT’S ABOUT 22,500 MILES OR SO UP ABOVE THE SURFACE IN SPACE, AND IT ROTATES AT THE SAME SPEED AS THE EARTH. ON BOARD WILL BE WHAT’S CALLED THE ADVANCED BASELINE IMAGER, AN INSTRUMENT THAT’S USED FOR CAPTURING EARTH’S WEATHER, OCEAN AND ENVIRONMENT. KEN GRAHAM, THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, SAYS HAVING THAT TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY AND QUICKER DATA WILL HELP WHEN IT COMES TO DETECTING SEVERE WEATHER. YOU LOOK AT GOES-U, YOU LOOK AT THE GOES-R SERIES TO BE ABLE TO HAVE 30 MINUTE DATA, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE DATA THAT HAS A RESOLUTION THAT YOU CAN SEE THE STRUCTURE OF THE STORM, THE EYE WHEN IT FORMS, AND EVEN THE STRUCTURE INSIDE THE EYE. THE TO HAVE THAT DATA IS ABSOLUTELY JUST INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT AND VITAL TO GET THE RIGHT INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC, TO REALLY KEEP PEOPLE SAFE. THE SATELLITE WILL BE EQUIPPED WITH A NEW SENSOR CALLED THE COMPACT CORONAGRAPH, WHICH WILL HELP DETECT SOLAR FLARES QUICKER THAN EVER. AND WE’LL HAVE NEW DATA EVERY 30 MINUTES INSTEAD OF EIGHT HOURS BEFORE. THAT’S A GAME CHANGER WHEN IT COMES TO SPACE WEATHER, WATCHES AND WARNINGS. IN ADDITION TO IMPROVING RESPONSE TIME FOR SPOTTING GEOMAGNETIC STORMS, GRAHAM SAYS THE RESOLUTION ON THE NEW SATELLITE WILL PICK UP VERY SMALL DETAILS ABOUT WEATHER EVENTS HERE ON EARTH THAT WERE MISSED BEFORE. IT’S NOT JUST THE STORM ITSELF, IT’S THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND IT. TO BE ABLE TO SEE IF THERE’S WIND SHEAR, TO BE ABLE TO SEE IF THERE’S ANY SORT OF OBSTACLE IN THE WAY, SO TO SPEAK, IN THE ATMOSPHERE THAT COULD ADJUST THE STORM. SO ALL THOSE PLA
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New NOAA weather satellite set to launch Tuesday from Florida Space Coast
Paola Tristan Arruda
Anchor
A Falcon Heavy rocket is set to launch a new weather satellite into orbit from the Space Coast.The 'GOES-U' satellite is the newest and final addition to NOAA's GOES-R series of satellites. GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite Series.The satellites provide advanced imagery, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and monitoring of space weather.Onboard will be the Advanced Baseline Imager, an instrument used for imaging Earth's oceans, weather, and environment.Ken Graham, the director of the National Weather Service, said having that type of technology and quicker data will help when it comes to detecting severe weather.The satellite will be equipped with a new sensor called the Compact Coronagraph which will help detect solar flares quicker than ever. "We'll have new data every 30 minutes instead of 8 hours before. That's a game changer when it comes to space weather watches and warnings," Graham said.In addition to improving response time for spotting geomagnetic storms, Graham said the resolution on the new satellite will pick up small details about weather events on Earth that were missed before."It's not just the storm itself, it's the environment around it to be able to see if there's wind shear, to be able to see if there's any sort of obstacles in the way, so to speak, in the atmosphere that could adjust the storm. So, all of those play into our forecast," he said.The launch is set for just after 5 Tuesday afternoon.
A Falcon Heavy rocket is set to launch a new weather satellite into orbit from the Space Coast.
The 'GOES-U' satellite is the newest and final addition to NOAA's GOES-R series of satellites. GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite Series.
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The satellites provide advanced imagery, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and monitoring of space weather.
Onboard will be the Advanced Baseline Imager, an instrument used for imaging Earth's oceans, weather, and environment.
Ken Graham, the director of the National Weather Service, said having that type of technology and quicker data will help when it comes to detecting severe weather.
The satellite will be equipped with a new sensor called the Compact Coronagraph which will help detect solar flares quicker than ever.
"We'll have new data every 30 minutes instead of 8 hours before. That's a game changer when it comes to space weather watches and warnings," Graham said.
In addition to improving response time for spotting geomagnetic storms, Graham said the resolution on the new satellite will pick up small details about weather events on Earth that were missed before.
"It's not just the storm itself, it's the environment around it to be able to see if there's wind shear, to be able to see if there's any sort of obstacles in the way, so to speak, in the atmosphere that could adjust the storm. So, all of those play into our forecast," he said.
The launch is set for just after 5 Tuesday afternoon.
