A Falcon Heavy rocket from SpaceX has launched a Goes-U meteorological satellite into orbitto complete the fleet of four satellites at the center of a $10 billion-plus upgrade of the nation’s forecasting infrastructure.
The satellite launch was delayed after meteorologists predicted a 70 percent chance of thunderstorms in the late afternoon. It lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center at 5.26pm EDT (11.26am ET), about ten minutes late.
A hurricane-hunting satellite
The new satellite will provide continuous, real-time coverage of weather and environmental conditions hazards, including hurricanes, across much of the Western Hemisphere.
“NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) geostationary satellites are an indispensable tool to protect the United States and the billion people who live and work in the Americas,” said Pam Sullivan, GOES program director. “They provide a constant, real-time view of weather and dangerous environmental phenomena throughout the Western Hemisphere.”
Dan Lindsey, chief scientist for NOAA’s GOES program, said that once operational, GOES-19 “will be the sentinel in the sky keeping an eye on hurricanes” that originate in the Atlantic and threaten the eastern United States, the Caribbean islands, Central America and the Gulf Coast.
The satellite’s main camera, the Advanced Baseline Imager, or ABI, will be able to “scan these large storms with a frequency of 30 seconds per provide minute-by-minute notices to the public.”
When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, the island’s weather radar was knocked out. “Meteorologists have used satellite imagery to issue warnings of flash floods or severe storms,” Lindsey said.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from platform 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Tuesday, June 25, 2024 John Raoux/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved
The new satellite is also equipped with a Geostationary Lightning Mapper, or Glm, an instrument that detects lightning in hurricanes and in other severe storms. GLM data helps researchers better understand how lightning intensity is linked to the growth of such storms.
According to Lindsey, Goes-19 will be the primary satellite for observing the central United States, “places like ‘tornado alley,’ which are the most severe storms across the continental United States.” One of the major threats in the Central Plains is something called a supercell. We can see lightning from supercells and raise lightning warnings to the public.”
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have developed a tool called “LightningCast”, a machine learning algorithm “that predicts the probability of lightning strikes in the next 60 minutes“Lindsey said.
“Let’s say there’s an outdoor sporting event. Meteorologists can look and see the likelihood of lightning occurring in the next hour,” he said. “And if the probability is high, they can consider warning the public, securing the people who are on the field and the fans.”
The Abi instrument also monitors volcanic eruptions and the vast ash clouds they generate which can pose a threat to aircraft.
