Falcon Heavy Set for Liftoff with GOES-U Weather Satellite
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket is ready for its 10th launch, carrying the GOES-U weather satellite. The launch window opens on June 25, contingent on favorable weather conditions.
Photo Source: Business Insider
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket is gearing up for its 10th launch, scheduled to deliver the next-generation GOES-U weather satellite into space. The rocket, along with its payload, was transported to Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 24.
The planned launch is set for June 25, with a two-hour window starting at 5:16 p.m. EDT (2116 GMT). However, the launch is contingent on weather conditions, which currently offer only a 30% chance of being favorable.
The GOES-U satellite represents the fourth and final addition to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)-R series. This series is touted as the most advanced weather-observing and environmental monitoring system in the Western Hemisphere, providing enhanced imagery, atmospheric measurements, real-time lightning mapping, and space weather observations.
The Falcon Heavy stands as the second-most powerful rocket currently in operation, following NASA’s Space Launch System. Once SpaceX’s massive Starship becomes operational, it will claim the title of the most powerful rocket.
Falcon Heavy made its debut in February 2018, famously launching SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster into orbit around the sun. Since then, it has completed eight more missions, the latest in December 2023, when it launched the U.S. Space Force’s robotic X-37B space plane into Earth orbit.
About The Author
