GOES 15 (GOES-P) - Delta IV-Medium+(4,2) - Canaveral SLC-37B - 04.03.10 23:57 UTC

[Salo]

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March 1    Delta 4  •  GOES P
Launch window: 2319-0019 GMT (6:19-7:19 p.m. EST)
Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite P, or GOES P, for NASA and NOAA. The weather satellite will orbit 22,300 miles above the planet to monitor conditions across the U.S. The rocket will fly in the Medium+ (4,2) configuration with two solid rocket boosters. Moved up from March 4. Delayed from Feb. 25. [Jan. 14]

[Pol]

http://www.physorg.com/news183830476.html

The GOES-P spacecraft continues being processed at the Astrotech Facility in Titusville, Fla. The Imager, Sounder and Solar X-Ray Imager have completed cleaning and inspections. The optical port covers have been successfully installed. Those covers are one of the last mechanisms to be deployed once GOES-P gets into orbit.
GOES-P is the latest weather satellite developed by NASA to aid the nation's meteorologists and climate scientists. GOES satellites provide the familiar weather pictures seen on United States television newscasts every day. GOES provides nearly continuous imaging and sounding, which allows forecasters to better measure changes in atmospheric temperature and moisture distributions, which increase the accuracy of their forecasts. GOES environmental information is used for a host of applications, including weather monitoring and prediction models.
Along with the instruments GOES-P will carry, it also contains seven appendages and mechanisms that are stowed for launch and later deployed during transfer orbit or at various phases of on-orbit testing. Those deployable mechanisms and appendages are: Aft omni antenna; Deployable aft blanket (DAB); Solar array; X-ray positioner (XRP); Magnetometer boom; Instrument radiant cooler covers; and the optical port covers.
These seven mechanisms are put into operation after the Delta IV rocket deploys GOES-P into space. Here's the order of how they work: Shortly after separation from the launch vehicle on day one of Launch and Orbit Raising (LOR), the Aft omni and DAB are deployed. At about the twelfth day, once geosynchronous orbit is achieved, the solar array is deployed. The solar array powers GOES-P in orbit. At around day 13 or 14 the XRP is released, followed by the magnetometer boom. By around day 17 in orbit, the instrument optical port covers are deployed at the end of Bus In-Orbit Testing (IOT). Finally, after about 30 days in orbit the radiant cooler covers are deployed.
Two solid rocket boosters were installed on Jan. 15, 2010, on the Delta IV Launch Vehicle that will carry GOES-P into space. GOES-P was transferred to its fueling stand on Monday, January 18. The L-35 Countdown Launch Procedure (CLP) Rehearsal was successfully completed on January 19, and the next day, the Propulsion System Valve Driver Functional Testing was completed. Now, Propulsion System Pressurization and Leak Checks are in progress in preparation for fueling operations.
The Eastern Range has approved the GOES-P new launch date of March 1, 2010.
Provided by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

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March 2    Delta 4  •  GOES P
Launch window: 2319-0019 GMT (6:19-7:19 p.m. EST)
Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite P, or GOES P, for NASA and NOAA. The weather satellite will orbit 22,300 miles above the planet to monitor conditions across the U.S. The rocket will fly in the Medium+ (4,2) configuration with two solid rocket boosters. Moved up from March 4. Delayed from Feb. 25 and March 1. [Feb. 17]

[Salo]

http://cybersecurity.ru/space/88061.html

НАСА готовится к запуску нового спутника GOES-P
(12:23) 23.02.2010

Космическое агентство НАСА готовится к запуску нового метеорологического спутника GOES -P (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P). Новый аппарат будет запущен со стартовой площадки 37 космодрома на мысе Канаверал 2 марта с 18:19 до 19:18 по времени восточного побережья США. После вывода аппарата на заданную орбиту он будет передан в ведение американского Национального управления атмосферных и океанических исследований.

В метеорологическом управлении США говорят, что GOES-P будет применяться для метеопрогнозирования, наблюдения за ураганами, торнадо и другими атмосферными явлениями. Новый спутник станет одним из ключевых в метеогруппировке NOAA.

"GOES-P является третьим и последним аппаратом в группировке GOES. С новым аппаратом возможности спутниковой системы охватят до 50% земной поверхности, чего будет хватать для создания глобальных точных метеопрогнозов над территорией США, Евразии, Австралии и Африки", - говорят в НАСА.

Помимо прогнозирования погоды, GOES-P будет оснащен солнечной рентгеновской камерой для отслеживания солнечной активности. В НАСА говорят, что данные со спутников GOES будут доступны публично и по запросу метеорологических служб разных стран NOAA намерено делиться информацией.

Запуск нового спутника будет проведен при помощи ракеты-носителя Delta IV компании United Launch. Сейчас на орбите находятся два спутника GOES: GOES 12 (GOES Восток) и GOES 12 (GOES Запад). После вывода на орбиту, аппарат GOES-P будет переименован в GOES -15.

[Pol]

http://www.physorg.com/news186084383.html

NASA, NOAA ready GOES-P satellite for launch
February 22, 2010

NASA is preparing to launch the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P (GOES-P) from Space Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The launch is targeted for March 2, during a launch window from 6:19 to 7:19 p.m. EST.

"GOES are the backbone of NOAA's severe weather forecasts, monitoring fast-changing conditions in the atmosphere that spawn hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other hazards," said Steve Kirkner, GOES program manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

GOES-P is the third and final spacecraft to be launched in the GOES N Series of geostationary environmental weather satellites. The GOES satellites continuously provide observations of more than 50 percent of the Earth, including the continental United States, providing weather monitoring and forecast operations and a continuous and reliable stream of environmental information and severe weather warnings.

In addition to weather forecasting on Earth, a key instrument onboard GOES-P, the Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI), will help NOAA continue monitoring solar conditions.

"The SXI is improving our forecasts and warnings for solar disturbances, protecting billions of dollars worth of commercial and government assets in space and on the ground, and lessening the brunt of power surges for the satellite-based electronics and communications industry," said Tom Bodgan, director of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder, Colo.

GOES-P joins a system of weather satellites that provide timely environmental information to meteorologists and the public. The GOES system provides data used to graphically display the intensity, path and size of storms. Early warning of impending severe weather enhances the public's ability to take shelter and protect property.

GOES-P will be launched on board a United Launch Alliance Delta IV (4, 2) launch vehicle under a FAA commercial license. The satellite will be turned over to NASA after the successful checkout is completed by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, El Segundo Calif.

Currently, NOAA operates GOES-12, (GOES East) and GOES-11 (GOES-West.) In late April, NOAA will activate GOES-13 to replace GOES-12 and will drift eastward from 105 degrees West longitude to 75 degrees West longitude. NOAA plans to move GOES-12 to 60 degrees West longitude to provide coverage for South America as part of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). NASA handed over GOES-14, launched last June, to NOAA on December 14, 2009. It will remain in normal mode at the 105W storage longitude to provide operational X-ray Sensor coverage to NOAA's SWPC.

Once in orbit GOES-P will be designated GOES-15, checked out and then stored on-orbit and ready 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 Goddard procures and manages the design, development and launch of the satellites for NOAA on a cost reimbursable basis. Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems built GOES-P.


Provided by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA's GOES-P meteorological satellite is lifted into the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

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March 4    Delta 4  •  GOES P
Launch window: 2317-0017 GMT (6:17-7:17 p.m. EST)
Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite P, or GOES P, for NASA and NOAA. The weather satellite will orbit 22,300 miles above the planet to monitor conditions across the U.S. The rocket will fly in the Medium+ (4,2) configuration with two solid rocket boosters. Moved up from March 4. Delayed from Feb. 25, March 1 and March 2. See our Mission Status Center. [March 1]

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d348/status.html

1344 GMT (8:44 a.m. EST)
Launch of the GOES P weather observatory aboard a Delta 4 rocket has been postponed to Thursday evening from the Cape, a 24-hour slip to replace a component in the fuel-delivery system from the pad to the vehicle.

"During launch processing inspections and reviews Sunday, mission managers determined that a quick disconnect in a line, which flows fuel to the rocket on launch day, needed to be removed and replaced. This work, in addition to the normal processing timeline, required the launch to move one day to March 4," officials announced in a statement Saturday morning.

"A faulty steering control valve located on a solid rocket motor discovered Friday was replaced and the resulting system checks are in-process," officials added.

"The Delta 4 and GOES P spacecraft are safe and secure."

Thursday's launch window stretches from 6:17 to 7:17 p.m. EST. The weather outlook is 80 percent favorable that day.

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Предстартовые фото:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d348/100304mst/

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Трансляция уже идёт:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d348/status.html

[Yra Napr]

2214 GMT (6:14 p.m. EST)
NEW LAUNCH TIME. The earliest that launch could occur is 6:47 p.m. EST. That's based on the time the next weather balloon data would be received and processed to give acceptable upper level wind conditions.

[Salo]

2214 GMT (6:14 p.m. EST)
NEW LAUNCH TIME. The earliest that launch could occur is 6:47 p.m. EST. That's based on the time the next weather balloon data would be received and processed to give acceptable upper level wind conditions.

02:47 ДМВ.

[Yra Napr]

Согласно их пресс-киту - http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/428782main_Goes-P-PK-Color.pdf

Launch Date/NET Window: March 2, 2010 at 6:19 p.m. – 7:19 p.m. EST (60 minute window)

Пол-часа уже выбрали

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Улетела!

[Yra Napr]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d348/status.html

0418 GMT (11:18 p.m. EST Thurs.)
T+plus 4 hours, 21 minutes. SPACECRAFT SEPARATION! The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite P has been deployed into orbit from the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket's upper stage, completing tonight's successful ascent.

The 7,000-pound spacecraft, built by The Boeing Company, is a next generation weather satellite that will be ready to replace one of the nation's older observatories in the coming years.

"We're excited about having the best that this nation has to offer in orbit. That's huge," said Andre Dress, NASA's deputy project manager.

The craft will spend the next two weeks performing planned orbital circularization burns to reach geostationary orbit 22,300 statute miles above the planet. It will be parked at 90 degrees West longitude over the equator for testing.

Boeing controls the initial operations of the satellite. After getting into geostationary orbit and unfolding the solar array and appendages, the company will complete early testing and give the satellite to NASA around March 24. The space agency plans five months of rigorous checkout before handing the spacecraft over to NOAA in mid-August for official use.

The first visible image from the satellite is expected on March 31 and the initial shot of the Sun from the Solar X-ray Imager should arrive on April 17.

After the test period is completed, the satellite will be relocated to orbital storage around 105 degrees West.

[Salo]

Фото галерея пуска:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d348/100304gallery/index.html

[Salo]

И ещё фото:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d348/launch/

[Старый]

А были времена когда Гоесы влезали в Дельту-2000 и 3000...

[Pol]

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/mar/HQ_10-056_GOES-P_launch.html

NASA and NOAA's GOES-P Satellite Successfully Launched   CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-P, lifted off Thursday aboard a Delta IV rocket at 6:57 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite joins four other similar spacecraft to improve weather forecasting and monitoring of environmental events.

Approximately four hours and 21 minutes after liftoff, the spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle. The NASA Deep Space Network tracking site in Canberra, Western Australia, monitored the spacecraft separation.

"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, Calif., 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, Md., procures and manages the design, development and launch of the satellites for NOAA on a cost reimbursable basis. NASA's Launch Services Program at the NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida supported the GOES-P launch in an advisory role.

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d348/status.html

TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010
The United States' latest weather observatory successfully flew into geostationary orbit and got a new name Tuesday, completing a series of stair-step altitude raising maneuvers that followed its launch earlier this month atop a Delta 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite was built and launched under the name of GOES P. But following NOAA tradition of renaming its satellites upon reaching the proper orbit, the craft became GOES 15.

The craft is designed to fly 22,300 miles above the planet and constantly track conditions for meteorologists from orbital vantage points above either the eastern or western sides of the Americas.

Some five firings of the satellite's liquid-fueled engine, producing 100 pounds of thrust, circularized the orbit after being delivered by the launcher into an elliptical transfer orbit. The burns began on March 7.

The power-generating solar array will be unfurled Wednesday, the long magnetometer boom deploys Saturday and the coverings on the imager and sounder instruments should be jettisoned next Tuesday. Handover of control from satellite-maker Boeing to NASA is scheduled for next Wednesday.

The space agency plans months of instrument activation work and extensive testing that's expected to last through August. If all goes well, GOES 15 will be given to NOAA for use in the network of weather-watching satellites. It'll initially be placed into orbital storage as a spare for NOAA.

"Our geostationary satellites are the nation's weather sentinels in the sky," said Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "With more than 35 million Americans living in hurricane prone areas and more than 1,000 tornadoes touching down in the U.S. annually, we need the reliable, accurate data that these satellites provide."

GOES 15's test location is above the equator at 89.5 degrees West longitude. Its storage slot will be 105 degrees West.