GOES-R Flying On Its Own!
Spacecraft sep! Cheers and applause erupt from the launch teams as the GOES-R spacecraft separates from the Centaur upper stage to fly freely for the first time! Next up, solar array deployment. GOES-R is in a transfer orbit of 19,000 miles by 4,400 miles. It will circularize that orbit to more than 22,000 miles above Earth to be in a position to watch the western hemisphere with the most advanced instruments of their kind.
