NASA will provide coverage of the prelaunch and launch activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) next weather observing and environmental monitoring system satellite. Currently known as GOES-T, this is the third satellite in NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) – R series.
GOES-T is scheduled to launch at 4:38 p.m. EST Tuesday, March 1, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. There is a two-hour launch window.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, all media participation in news conferences will be remote. A phone bridge will be provided for each briefing.
Live launch coverage will begin at 4 p.m. on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. NASA will hold a science briefing at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, followed by a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26.
GOES-T will be renamed GOES-18 once it reaches geostationary orbit. Following a successful orbital checkout of its instruments and systems, GOES-18 will go into operational service as GOES West. In this position, the satellite will provide critical data for the U.S. West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, and the Pacific Ocean.
All media participation in news conferences will be remote except where noted otherwise.
Full mission coverage is as follows:
Friday, Feb. 25
1 p.m. – GOES-T Science Briefing with the following participants:
- Dr. Dan Lindsey, GOES-R program scientist, NOAA
- Dr. James “Jim” Yoe, chief administrator, Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation
- Candace Carlisle, GOES-R flight project manager, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
- Tewa Kpulun, Geostationary Lightning Mapper science lead, Lockheed Martin
- Dr. Daniel Gall, Advanced Baseline Imager chief systems engineer, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris Technologies
For the science briefing dial-in number and passcode, please contact the newsroom at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24. Members of the media, as well as the public, also may ask questions, which may be answered in real-time during the segment, by using #AskNASA on social media.
Saturday, Feb. 26
1 p.m. – GOES-T Prelaunch News Conference, with the following participants:
- Steve Volz, acting assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction and assistant administrator for satellite and information services, NOAA
- Pam Sullivan, director, GOES-R Program, NOAA
- John Gagosian, director, Joint Agency Satellite Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA
- Tim Dunn, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program, NASA Kennedy
- Scott Messer, program manager, NASA Launch Services, United Launch Alliance
- Jessica Williams, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Space Launch Delta 45
For the prelaunch news conference dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov no later than noon Friday, Feb. 25. Members of the media, as well as the public, also may ask questions, which may be answered in real-time during the segment, by using #AskNASA on social media.
Monday, Feb. 28
10 a.m. – NASA EDGE will host the GOES-T rollout show. The rollout show will air live on NASA TV and YouTube.
Tuesday, Mar. 1
4 p.m. – NASA TV live launch coverage begins.
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,” countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135. A “clean feed” of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.
For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at: 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on the GOES-T launch blog at:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/tag/goes-t/
Public Participation
Members of the public can register to attend the GOES-T launch virtually. The virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the virtual guest passport following a successful launch.
GOES-T Virtual Social
As launch preparations are finalized, the public is invited to join a virtual GOES-T Social on Facebook. Stay up to date on the latest mission activities, interact with NOAA, NASA and GOES-T team members in real-time, and watch the launch of the ULA Atlas V rocket that will boost GOES-T toward its destination.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo 321-501-8425.
NOAA oversees the GOES-R Series Program through an integrated NOAA-NASA office, managing the ground system, operating the satellites, and distributing their data to users worldwide. The launch is managed by NASA’s LSP, based at Kennedy. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, oversees the acquisition of the GOES-R satellite and instruments. Lockheed Martin designs, creates, and tests the GOES-R Series satellites. L3Harris Technologies provides the main instrument payload, the Advanced Baseline Imager, and the ground system, which includes the antenna system for data reception.
Watch, Engage Online
Stay connected with the mission on social media, and let people know you’re following it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtag #GOEST. Also follow online at:
Twitter: @NASA, @NASASocial, @NASA_LSP, @NASAKennedy, @NOAASatellites
Facebook: NASA, NASA LSP, NASA Kennedy, NOAA Satellites
Instagram: NASA, NASA Kennedy, NOAA Satellites
For more information about the launch of GOES-T, visit:
