{"id":10648,"date":"2022-03-02T00:04:57","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T16:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/atlas-5-rocket-aces-another-on-target-launch-with-noaa-weather-satellite\/"},"modified":"2022-03-02T00:04:57","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T16:04:57","slug":"atlas-5-rocket-aces-another-on-target-launch-with-noaa-weather-satellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/atlas-5-rocket-aces-another-on-target-launch-with-noaa-weather-satellite\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlas 5 rocket aces another on-target launch with NOAA weather satellite"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Four solid rocket boosters and an RD-180 main engine power ULA\u2019s Atlas 5 rocket off the pad Tuesday with NOAA\u2019s GOES-T weather satellite. Credit: Alex Polimeni \/ Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral and delivered the GOES-T weather satellite into orbit Tuesday, adding a new spacecraft to NOAA\u2019s fleet destined to become the primary observatory tracking storms over the Pacific Ocean and the Western United States.<\/p>\n

Built by Lockheed Martin, the GOES-T satellite is the third of four spacecraft in NOAA\u2019s latest generation of weather satellites positioned in geostationary orbit, extending a record of continuous weather observations since the first GOES satellite launched in 1975.<\/p>\n

GOES-T lifted off aboard a 196-foot-tall (59.7-meter) Atlas 5 rocket at 4:38 p.m. EST (2138 GMT) Tuesday. Some 2.3 million pounds of thrust from the Atlas 5\u2019s four strap-on solid rocket boosters and RD-180 main engine catapulted the launcher into late afternoon sky.<\/p>\n

The Atlas 5 turned east from Cape Canaveral and exceeded the speed of sound in about 35 seconds. The rocket\u2019s four boosters, made in Utah by Northrop Grumman, jettisoned about two minutes into the mission, followed by separation of the Atlas 5\u2019s payload fairing three-and-a-half minutes after launch.<\/p>\n

The RD-180 main engine, made in Russia by NPO Energomash, performed well during a burn lasting more than four minutes. It was the 98th flight of an RD-180 engine on an Atlas rocket, and all have been successful.<\/p>\n

The rocket\u2019s Centaur upper stage fired its RL10 engine, built by Aerojet Rocketdyne in West Palm Beach, Florida, three times to guide the GOES-T weather satellite into an elliptical, or oval-shaped, transfer orbit with an apogee, or high point, nearly 22,000 miles (35,000 miles) above Earth.<\/p>\n

ULA confirmed the rocket released the GOES-T satellite right on target three-and-a-half hours after liftoff. NOAA said the satellite extended its solar array wing and started operating on its own power.<\/p>\n

\u201cGOES-T joins the suite of advanced technology providing critical data and imagery to forecasters and researchers tracking hazardous weather and working toward building a climate ready nation,\u201d said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad.<\/p>\n

The launch was the 92nd flight of an Atlas 5 rocket, and the 167th consecutive success for the Atlas rocket family since 1993. It was the 149th flight of Atlas and Delta rockets performed by ULA since its formation in 2006 as a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.<\/p>\n

The Atlas 5 flight Tuesday came a day after Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russia\u2019s space agency Roscosmos, that ULA\u2019s remaining missions with the RD-180 engine will not receive technical support from the RD-180\u2019s Russian manufacturer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, let\u2019s pray for our American friends!\u201d Rogozin tweeted.<\/p>\n

Tory Bruno, ULA\u2019s chief executive, tweeted last week that he is confident the company can fly the remaining Atlas 5 missions even without technical expertise from Russian engineers. All of the RD-180 engines needed for the 24 Atlas 5 rockets left to fly have been delivered to the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cI accelerated the delivery of the last RD-180s,\u201d Bruno tweeted, adding that ULA engineers have \u201clots of experience\u201d with the RD-180 engine. \u201cI have personal experience in flying other people\u2019s rockets without their support, which informs my confidence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Artist\u2019s concept of the GOES-T satellite in space. Credit: NOAA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GOES-T will use its own engine to maneuver into a circular geostationary orbit some 22,300 miles above the equator. The orbit-raising maneuvers will last around two weeks, and NOAA will remake the satellite GOES-18 once it reaches geostationary altitude.<\/p>\n

After opening protective doors on GOES-T\u2019s instruments, the first images from the new satellite should come down in May, and NOAA plans provide data from the new weather satellite to forecasters on a provisional basis as soon as July. It will enter operational service in early 2023.<\/p>\n

NOAA\u2019s fleet of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, or GOES program, tracks hurricanes, severe storms, wildfires, dust storms, and other weather events in real-time, giving forecasters a minute-by-minute glimpse of evolving conditions.<\/p>\n

The satellites are parked in geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator, where they orbit Earth in lock-step with the planet\u2019s rotation. NOAA maintains one operational GOES satellite in a western position over the Pacific Ocean and Western United States, and another GOES spacecraft in an eastern slot to cover the Eastern United States, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n

The two operational satellites provide weather coverage from New Zealand to Africa, and from Alaska to the southern tip of South America.<\/p>\n

The GOES spacecraft produce the sharpest real-time weather satellite views of hurricanes and storms used in television broadcasts. NOAA also operates a constellation of lower-altitude satellites in polar orbit for aid in medium- and long-term forecasting.<\/p>\n

\u201cNOAA\u2019s geostationary satellites provide the only continuous coverage of weather and hazardous environmental conditions in the Western hemisphere, protecting the lives and properties of the 1 billion people who live and work there,\u201d said Pam Sullivan, NOAA\u2019s director of GOES-R program, which includes the GOES-T mission. \u201cThe observations from these satellites are even more critical now when the U.S. is experiencing a record number of billion dollar disasters.\u201d<\/p>\n

GOES-T is heading to the GOES-West location in NOAA\u2019s fleet, where it will be parked at 137 degrees west longitude. It will replace GOES-17, formerly known as GOES-S, which launched in March 2018 and has been in the GOES-West position since 2019.<\/p>\n

GOES-17 captured spectacular views in January of a volcanic eruption in Tonga.<\/p>\n