The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) is scheduled to launch on Thursday, March 1, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 is targeted for 5:02 p.m. EST at the opening of a two-hour launch window. Launch coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 4:30 p.m.
GOES-S is the second in the GOES-R Series of weather satellites that includes GOES-R (now GOES-16), -S, -T and -U. GOES-S will be renamed GOES-17 when it reaches geostationary orbit. Once the satellite is declared operational late this year, it will occupy NOAA’s GOES-West position and provide faster, more accurate data for tracking wildfires, tropical cyclones, fog and other storm systems and hazards that threaten the western United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, Central America and the Pacific Ocean all the way to New Zealand.
NOAA manages the GOES-R Series program through an integrated NOAA/NASA office collocated at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center that oversees the acquisition of the program ground system. NASA oversees the acquisition of the spacecraft, instruments and launch vehicles. Lockheed Martin Space of Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft and is responsible for spacecraft development, integration and testing.
Mission operations will be performed by NOAA at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland. Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Florida, provided the main instrument payload, the Advanced Baseline Imager, and the ground system, which includes the antenna system for data receipt. NASA’s Launch Services Program is responsible for launch management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is the provider of the Atlas V launch service.
Accreditation
The deadline for accreditation for media has passed.
Media badges will be issued at the Press Accreditation Office located on State Road 3, Merritt Island. For questions about accreditation, please email ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
L-2 Day (Tuesday, Feb. 27)
Press Site Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Badging Hours of Operation: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Foreign Nationals will be picked up at the Press Accreditation Office at 12 p.m.
Prelaunch News Conference and Science Briefing
A prelaunch status briefing will be held at 1 p.m., followed by a science briefing at 2:30 p.m. Both briefings will be held at Kennedy’s Press Site TV Auditorium and air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Prelaunch news conference participants are:
- Stephen Volz, director for satellite and information services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Tim Walsh, GOES-R system program director (acting), NOAA
- Sandra Smalley, director, Joint Agency Satellite Division, NASA Headquarters
- Tim Dunn, launch director, NASA, Kennedy Space Center
- Scott Messer, program manager, NASA Programs, United Launch Alliance
- Kathy Winters, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Science briefing participants are:
- Dan Lindsey, GOES-R senior scientific advisor, NOAA
- Louis Uccellini, director, National Weather Service, NOAA
- George Morrow, deputy director, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- Jim Roberts, scientist, Earth System Research Laboratory, Office of Atmospheric Research, NOAA
- Kristin Calhoun, research scientist, National Severe Storms Laboratory, NOAA
Media also can ask questions during the briefings via Twitter, using the hashtag #askNASA.
L-1 Day (Wednesday, Feb. 28)
Press Site Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Badging Hours of Operation: 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Foreign Nationals will be picked up at the Press Accreditation Office at 8 a.m. to attend the launch vehicle rollout and at 1:30 p.m. to attend the pad photo opportunity and remote camera setup.
ULA Atlas V Launch Vehicle Rollout
There will be an opportunity for news media to photograph the rollout of the ULA Atlas V rocket from the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad. Media should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at 8:30 a.m. for transportation to the viewing location near Space Launch Complex 41.
Mobile Launcher Update
There will be an opportunity for news media to speak with an expert to get an update on the mobile launcher. Media should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at noon for transportation to the ML site.
Launch Pad Photo Opportunity and Remote Camera Setup
There will be an opportunity for news media to photograph the ULA Atlas V with GOES-S and establish sound-activated remote cameras at the launch pad. Media should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at 2 p.m. to be escorted to Space Launch Complex 41.
Media wishing to attend either of these events must RSVP by noon on Tuesday, Feb. 27, to ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
L-0 Day (Thursday, Mar. 1)
Press Site Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Badging Hours of Operation: 7:30 – 9 a.m. and 1 – 4:30 p.m.
Foreign nationals will be picked up at the Press Accreditation Office at 8 a.m. to attend NOAA’s Gulfstream Aircraft open house and at 2:30 p.m. to view launch.
NOAA’s Gulfstream IV (G-IV) Aircraft Open House
Media will have a unique opportunity to visit NOAA’s G-IV aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) and learn about its specialized instruments, such as the tail Doppler radar, and interview NOAA experts who conduct research or use data from this aircraft and the GOES satellite system. The plane flies at high altitude around and ahead of tropical cyclones, gathering critical data that feeds into hurricane forecast models. It also is used for atmospheric research and weather phenomena such as atmospheric rivers. Media should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at 9 a.m. to be escorted to the SLF. Media wishing to attend this event must RSVP by noon on Wednesday, Feb. 28 to ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
Open house participants are:
- Capt. Kristie Twining, G-IV pilot, NOAA
- Cmdr. Brad Fritzler, G-IV pilot, NOAA
- Jack Parrish, flight director and meteorologist, Aircraft Operations Center, NOAA
- Richard Henning, flight director and meteorologist, Aircraft Operations Center, NOAA
- William Ulrich, leader, Tropical Weather Program, NOAA National Weather Service, Melbourne, Florida
- Jamese Sims, GOES-R Program series products manager, NOAA
- Matthew Seybold, GOES-R Program series data operations manager and product readiness and operations manager, NOAA
Launch Viewing
Media may view the GOES-S launch from the Kennedy Press Site, NASA Causeway or the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) roof (space is limited). Media who wish to view the launch from the NASA Causeway or the VAB roof should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at 3 p.m. to be escorted. Media must RSVP with their preference for the NASA Causeway or the VAB roof by noon on Wednesday, Feb. 28 to ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. Only one representative per organization may sign up for the VAB roof.
NASA TV Launch Coverage
NASA TV live coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET. Coverage will conclude after solar array deploy. There is no planned post-launch news conference. A post-launch news release will be issued as soon as the state-of-health of the spacecraft can be verified. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/ntv.
Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.
NASA Web Prelaunch and Launch Coverage
Prelaunch and launch day coverage of GOES-S will be available on https://www.nasa.gov. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET as the countdown milestones occur. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the newsroom at 321-867-2468. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at http://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/.
Learn more about the GOES-R Series Program by visiting:
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Tori McLendon
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
tori.n.mclendon@nasa.gov
Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov
John Leslie
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington
301-713-0214
john.leslie@noaa.gov