The Centaur engine ignited on schedule and is pushing the GOES-R spacecraft into its proper transfer orbit. The burn will last about a minute-and-a-half.
The Centaur stage is firing its small thrusters to position itself and its GOES-R payload into the proper position to fire its main engine for the final time during this mission. Everything remains on schedule for the flight.
The GOES-R satellite and Centaur upper stage continue to perform well tonight. Launch controllers are standing by for the final burn of the Centaur upper stage engine at 10:09 p.m. EST.
Two hours and 29 minutes after lifting off from Florida, the GOES-R spacecraft and Centaur upper stage are performing as planned as they orbit high above Earth. There is less than one hour to go in this final coast phase before the Centaur ignites its RL10 engine one more time to place the GOES-R satellite …
Noted television meteorologist Al Roker attended today's launch of the GOES-R spacecraft and talked with NASA TV earlier. His interest in the mission, he said, comes from the fact that the satellite will give forecasters much more information to help them with their predictions. GOES-R carries sensors that are much more advanced than previous GOES …
As the Centaur upper stage and GOES-R spacecraft continue tonight's coast phase, take a look at liftoff earlier from Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida. Launch occurred at 6:42 p.m. EST.
The Centaur's engine shutdown as planned to raise the orbit of the GOES-R spacecraft. The Centaur and GOES-R will remain connected through about two orbits of the Earth before the Centaur ignites its engine once more to place GOES-R in a transfer orbit. The next burn will take place at 10:09 p.m. EST. NASA's Launch …
The Centaur's RL10 is burning again to lift the GOES-R spacecraft higher. This burn will last about 5 1/2 minutes. Everything is proceeding as planned.
The Centaur stage will ignite its single engine again at about 7:04 p.m., or about 10 minutes after its first shutdown. The mission is going as planned with the Centaur and GOES-R orbiting at 17,650 mph.
The Centaur's engine shut off as scheduled. The upper stage will conduct two more burns tonight to place GOES-R into a transfer orbit. The spacecraft will use its own propellant later to circularize its orbit for operations.