At Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket set to carry the NASA/NOAA GOES P spacecraft sits poised on the launch pad. Today's planned liftoff of the GOES-P satellite aboard a Delta IV rocket is a "go." Mission managers gave their approvals during yesterday's Launch Readiness Review. Liftoff from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida is set for 6:17 p.m. EST. The weather forecast calls for a 90 percent chance of acceptable weather during the one-hour launch window that extends to 7:17 p.m.
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P, or GOES-P, is the latest in a series of meteorological satellites designed to watch for storm development and weather conditions on Earth. From its location in Earth orbit, GOES-P's state-of-the-art instrumentation will supply data used in weather monitoring, forecasting and warnings. It also will detect ocean and land temperatures, monitor space weather, relay communications and provide search-and-rescue support.
GOES-P, to be launched for NASA and NOAA, is a United Launch Alliance commercial launch for Boeing Launch Services under a Federal Aviation Administration license.
