GOES-U
NamesGeostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-U
Mission typeEarth weather forecasting
OperatorNOAA
Mission duration15 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
BusA2100
ManufacturerLockheed Martin
Launch mass5,000 kg (11,023 lb)
Dry mass2,925 kg (6,449 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date30 April 2024 (planned)[1]
RocketFalcon Heavy
Launch siteKennedy Space Center, LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeGeostationary orbit
← GOES-18
 

GOES-U is a planned weather satellite, the fourth and last of the GOES-R series of satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The GOES-R series will extend the availability of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system until 2036. The satellite will be built by Lockheed Martin, based on the A2100 platform.[2]

Launch

The satellite is expected to be launched into space atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket no earlier than 30 April 2024 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, United States.[1] The redesign of the loop heat pipe to prevent an anomaly, as seen in GOES-17, is not expected to delay the launch as it did with GOES-T.[3]

GOES-U will also carry a copy of the Naval Research Laboratory's Compact CORonagraph (CCOR) instrument which, along with the CCOR planned for Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1), will allow continued monitoring of solar wind after the retirement of the NASA-ESA SOHO satellite in 2025.[4][5]

It will have a dry mass of 2,925 kg (6,449 lb) and a fueled mass of 5,000 kg (11,023 lb).[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "GOES-U: Road to Launch". NESDIS. NOAA. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  2. ^ "GOES-R, S, T, U Spacecraft Overview". Spaceflight101. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  3. ^ Werner, Debra (9 January 2019). "Lockheed Martin halts work on GOES-T to wait for instrument fix". SpaceNews. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  4. ^ Vargas, Marco (7 January 2019). "The NOAA Space Weather Follow-On Program to Ensure Continuity of CME Imagery and Solar Wind Space-Based Observations". American Meteorilogical Society 99th Annual Meeting. AMS. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1". NESDIS. NOAA. Retrieved 24 March 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ "GOES-R Series Spacecraft Overview". GOES-R Series. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
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