PMFORUM Breaking News
Breaking News in the Project Management World
Saturday, March 06, 2010
GOES-P Satellite Successfully Launched
The
third Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-P, was
successfully launched on Thursday, 4 March 2010 aboard a IV rocket at
6:57 p.m. EST (00:57 GMT March 5) from Space Launch Complex 37 at the
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA. The new National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite joins four
other similar spacecraft to improve weather forecasting and monitoring
of environmental events.
"It's
a great day for NASA and NOAA, as this last launch completes the
spacecraft in the GOES N-P series," said Andre Dress, the NASA GOES
Deputy Project Manager. "It means the hard work and dedication from
this team during the past 12-plus years all has been worth it. Our
review of the spacecraft and launch vehicle data shows that GOES-P is
in a nominal transfer orbit with all spacecraft systems functioning
properly."
GOES-P is the third and final spacecraft in the GOES N Series of geostationary environmental weather satellites. On March 13, GOES-P is scheduled to be placed in its final orbit and renamed GOES-15.
NOAA has two operational GOES satellites hovering 22,300 miles above the equator -- GOES-12 in the east and GOES-11 in the west. Each provides continuous observations of environmental conditions in North, Central and South America and the surrounding oceans. GOES-13 is being moved to replace GOES-12, which will be positioned to provide coverage for South America as part of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems, or GEOSS.
NASA contracted with Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems of Seal Beach, California, to build and launch the GOES-P spacecraft. Approximately 20 days after launch, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems will turn engineering control over to NASA. About five months later, NASA will transfer operational control of GOES-15 to NOAA. The satellite will be checked out and stored on-orbit. It will be available for activation should one of the operational GOES satellites degrade or exhaust their fuel.
NOAA manages the GOES program, establishes requirements, provides all funding and distributes environmental satellite data for the United States. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, procures and manages the design, development and launch of the satellites for NOAA. NASA's Launch Services Program at the NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida supported the GOES-P launch in an advisory role.
For more information about the GOES-P mission and program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/goes-p
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects. For more information, visit http://www.noaa.gov/.
Created
in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is
America's focal point for research, development and exploration of
outer space. For over 50 years, NASA has been leading the world in the
development and usage of advanced program and project management. For
information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov
Source: NASA News Release
GOES-P is the third and final spacecraft in the GOES N Series of geostationary environmental weather satellites. On March 13, GOES-P is scheduled to be placed in its final orbit and renamed GOES-15.
NOAA has two operational GOES satellites hovering 22,300 miles above the equator -- GOES-12 in the east and GOES-11 in the west. Each provides continuous observations of environmental conditions in North, Central and South America and the surrounding oceans. GOES-13 is being moved to replace GOES-12, which will be positioned to provide coverage for South America as part of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems, or GEOSS.
NASA contracted with Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems of Seal Beach, California, to build and launch the GOES-P spacecraft. Approximately 20 days after launch, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems will turn engineering control over to NASA. About five months later, NASA will transfer operational control of GOES-15 to NOAA. The satellite will be checked out and stored on-orbit. It will be available for activation should one of the operational GOES satellites degrade or exhaust their fuel.
NOAA manages the GOES program, establishes requirements, provides all funding and distributes environmental satellite data for the United States. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, procures and manages the design, development and launch of the satellites for NOAA. NASA's Launch Services Program at the NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida supported the GOES-P launch in an advisory role.
For more information about the GOES-P mission and program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/goes-p
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects. For more information, visit http://www.noaa.gov/.
Source: NASA News Release