Dry weather on tap for Saturday's launch of GOES-R, a revolutionary weather satellite

By Brian Lada, Meteorologist

November 16,2016; 10:35PM,EST

 

Favorable weather is expected on Saturday evening when NASA launches GOES-R, America's next-generation weather satellite, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Once in orbit, the satellite will provide high-resolution weather information to meteorologists, helping to revolutionize weather forecasting around the globe.
"GOES-R will provide images of weather patterns and severe storms as frequently as every 30 seconds, which will contribute to more accurate and reliable weather forecasts and severe weather outlooks," NOAA said.
The launch is scheduled for 5:42 p.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 19.
An Atlas V rocket that is to carry the New Horizons spacecraft on a mission to the planet Pluto lifts off from launch pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Weather has already caused the GOES-R launch date to be postponed. Launch was originally scheduled for Nov. 4; however, impacts from Hurricane Matthew forced the launch to be pushed back until later in the month.
It is unlikely that weather will cause the launch to be delayed again as settled weather is expected across Florida this weekend.
"High pressure located off to the northwest of Florida will provide the Cape Canaveral area with partly sunny skies and comfortable temperatures Saturday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Edwards said.
Edwards added that winds may occasionally gust above 20 mph; however, this is not strong enough to disrupt the launch.
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If the weather does prove to be an issue on Saturday, or a technological issue with the rocket arises, the launch will be delayed by 24 hours.
Similar to Saturday, weather conditions on Sunday evening are expected to be favorable for launch with dry conditions and light winds.
Artist's rendering of GOES-R. (Image/NASA)
GOES-R will be hitching a ride into orbit aboard an Atlas V rocket, one of the most reliable rockets in the space industry.
The Atlas V rocket will send the new weather satellite into geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth's surface. This specific type of orbit allows the satellite to remain in a fixed position over the Earth.
"A geostationary orbit is extremely valuable for weather monitoring because satellites in this orbit provide a constant view of the same surface area," NASA said.
In the case of GOES-R, this means that it will always be surveying the Western Hemisphere, which includes the United States and much of the Atlantic Ocean.
Once in the proper orbit, GOES-R will undergo tests to make sure that the instruments onboard are functioning properly and will start to send weather information back to meteorologists in 2017.