The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NOAA's GOES-S satellite launched at 5:02 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA
Atlas V Launches With NOAA’s GOES-S Satellite

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NOAA's GOES-S satellite launched at 5:02 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA
Booster ignition and liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 5:02 p.m. EST, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying NOAA's GOES-S satellite. The rocket is on its way, carrying NOAA's second in a series of four next-generation weather satellites.
About four minutes into flight, a series of key events occurs in rapid succession: Atlas booster engine cutoff, separation of the booster from the Centaur upper stage, ignition of the Centaur main engine for its first of two burns, then jettison of the payload fairing.
The GOES-S countdown is underway toward a liftoff at 5:02 p.m. EST. During the last four minutes of the countdown, the Atlas and Centaur propellant tanks will be brought up to flight pressure, the rocket and spacecraft will be confirmed on internal power, and the Eastern Range and launch managers will perform final status checks. …
The launch countdown has entered a T-4 minute hold. This hold will last 15 minutes. Weather remains at 90 percent chance for favorable weather at liftoff. The constraint for cumulus clouds has been removed.
Good afternoon from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket stands ready for liftoff at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Atlas V will carry NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S). Launch is targeted for 5:02 p.m. EST, at the beginning of a two-hour launch …
NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) is the second in the GOES-R Series of weather satellites that includes GOES-R (now named GOES-16), -S, -T and -U. The GOES-S satellite will be renamed GOES-17 when it reaches geostationary orbit. Once the satellite is declared operational, late this year, it will occupy NOAA's GOES-West position and provide …
The rocket standing on the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 is an Atlas V 541 configuration, one of the most powerful rockets in the Atlas V fleet. The 541 designation means this rocket has a payload fairing, or nose cone, that is approximately five meters wide, four solid-rocket boosters fastened alongside the central common …
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The latest weather update from meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing is now at a 90 percent chance of favorable weather today for liftoff of the Atlas V rocket with NOAA's GOES-S satellite. The rocket is slated to liftoff at 5:02 p.m. EST.
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