Environmental Satellite T) will be launched from Cape Canaveral

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T) satellite is now safely encapsulated for March 1, 2022, from Canavera, Florida. Another key milestone was achieved in preparation for the launch of the Cape Space Station.

The two halves of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing were brought together and installed around GOES-T at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Titusville. The payload fairing will secure and protect the satellite during launch.

"Now things are getting real; GOES-T is fully assembled and ready for launch," said GOES-T mission manager Rex Engelhardt. "Next week, we will be holding final launch reviews and exercising the team on their launch consoles in preparation for launch day.

Last month, technical staff began integrating operations, which included integrating the spaceflight The vehicle is lifted onto and paired with the payload adapter - a piece of hardware that mechanically connects the rocket and the spacecraft. On February 17, GOES-T will be transported and docked to the fully assembled launch vehicle. The rocket aims to roll to the launch pad on February 28.

As the third satellite in NOAA's GOES-R series, GOES-T will lift off on an Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41. The launch is managed by NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center, a multi-user spaceport in the United States.

The GOES satellite network helps meteorologists observe and predict local weather events that affect public safety. , including thunderstorms, tornadoes, fog, hurricanes, flash floods and other severe weather, GOES-T will provide critical data on the U.S. West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America and the Pacific.