GOES 15
Encyclopedia
GOES 15, previously known as GOES-P, is an American
weather satellite
, which will form part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
(GOES) system operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
. The spacecraft was constructed by Boeing
, and is the last of three GOES satellites to be based on the BSS-601 bus. The other BSS-601 GOES satellites; GOES 13
and GOES 14
were launched in May 2006 and June 2009 respectively. In total it was the sixteenth GOES satellite to be launched.
GOES 15 was launched atop a Delta IV-M+(4,2) rocket flying from Space Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
. The launch occurred at 23:57 GMT on 4 March, forty minutes into a sixty-minute launch window
. Upon reaching geostationary orbit on 16 March, it was redesignated GOES 15. It is currently undergoing a series of post-launch tests before being placed into storage as a backup to await the failure of an operational GOES satellite.
At launch, the mass of the satellite will be 3238 kilograms (7,138.6 lb). It has a design life of ten years. Power will be supplied by a single gallium arsenide solar panel, which is intended to provide up to 2.3 kilowatts of power. A 24 cell nickel hydrogen battery will be used to provide power when the satellite is not in sunlight. Instruments aboard GOES15 include a five channel multispectral imager to capture visible light and infrared images of the continental United States, a sounder to take readings of atmospheric temperature and moisture, a solar x-ray imager to detect solar flare
s, and instruments to monitor the magnetosphere
, cosmic background radiation and charged particle
s.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
weather satellite
Weather satellite
The weather satellite is a type of satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be either polar orbiting, seeing the same swath of the Earth every 12 hours, or geostationary, hovering over the same spot on Earth by orbiting over the equator while...
, which will form part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
The Geostationary Satellite system, operated by the United States National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service , supports weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and meteorology research. Spacecraft and ground-based elements of the system work together to provide a continuous...
(GOES) system operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
. The spacecraft was constructed by Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, and is the last of three GOES satellites to be based on the BSS-601 bus. The other BSS-601 GOES satellites; GOES 13
GOES 13
GOES 13, known as GOES-N before becoming operational, is an American weather satellite which is part of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system. It was launched in 2006...
and GOES 14
GOES 14
GOES 14, known as GOES-O prior to reaching its operational orbit, is an American weather satellite, which is part of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite...
were launched in May 2006 and June 2009 respectively. In total it was the sixteenth GOES satellite to be launched.
GOES 15 was launched atop a Delta IV-M+(4,2) rocket flying from Space Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...
. The launch occurred at 23:57 GMT on 4 March, forty minutes into a sixty-minute launch window
Launch window
Launch window is a term used in spaceflight to describe a time period in which a particular launch vehicle must be launched. If the rocket does not launch within the "window", it has to wait for the next window....
. Upon reaching geostationary orbit on 16 March, it was redesignated GOES 15. It is currently undergoing a series of post-launch tests before being placed into storage as a backup to await the failure of an operational GOES satellite.
At launch, the mass of the satellite will be 3238 kilograms (7,138.6 lb). It has a design life of ten years. Power will be supplied by a single gallium arsenide solar panel, which is intended to provide up to 2.3 kilowatts of power. A 24 cell nickel hydrogen battery will be used to provide power when the satellite is not in sunlight. Instruments aboard GOES15 include a five channel multispectral imager to capture visible light and infrared images of the continental United States, a sounder to take readings of atmospheric temperature and moisture, a solar x-ray imager to detect solar flare
Solar flare
A solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release of up to 6 × 1025 joules of energy . The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a day...
s, and instruments to monitor the magnetosphere
Magnetosphere
A magnetosphere is formed when a stream of charged particles, such as the solar wind, interacts with and is deflected by the intrinsic magnetic field of a planet or similar body. Earth is surrounded by a magnetosphere, as are the other planets with intrinsic magnetic fields: Mercury, Jupiter,...
, cosmic background radiation and charged particle
Charged particle
In physics, a charged particle is a particle with an electric charge. It may be either a subatomic particle or an ion. A collection of charged particles, or even a gas containing a proportion of charged particles, is called a plasma, which is called the fourth state of matter because its...
s.
External links
- GOES-P Press Kit
- GOES Timeline The History of Geostationary Satellites. From the launch of SMS-1 in May 1974 through the launch of GOES-13.
- GOES-15 image examples on the CIMSS Satellite Blog