Elon Musk’s SpaceX, NASA launch weather satellites to track Earth climate, solar flares: All you need to know | Watch

Space Weather Satellite Launch: SpaceX successfully launched the fourth and final satellite for NASA's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) programme on June 25.

The series of advanced satellites called GOES-R (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) are expected to aid with "continuous coverage of weather and hazardous environmental conditions across much of the Western Hemisphere", NASA said in a press release.

NASA, SpaceX, and Elon Musk celebrated the milestone by posting pictures and videos on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). “New weather satellite delivered!” Musk, who owns SpaceX, said.

“Orbiting Earth at ~35,700 km, GOES-U will assist weather forecasters and climate researchers with real-time high-resolution imagery, earlier detection of severe weather that could save lives, and tropical cyclone forecasts,” posted NASA’s official account.

Here Are The Details

• The satellite GOES-U was launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:26 PM. By 10:18 PM, the solar arrays had deployed, powering the spacecraft.
• Once GOES-U is in a geostationary orbit, about 22,200 miles above Earth, it will be renamed GOES-19. Its predecessor was GOES-T.
• In service, GOES-19 will monitor weather over most of North America (the contiguous United States and Mexico), Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the west coast of Africa.

• NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, in a statement, said GOES-U will track weather in real-time amid the "effects of extreme weather" across the world. He added that the data would help prepare for severe storms, fire detection, and more. "This fleet of advanced satellites is strengthening resilience to our changing climate and protecting humanity from weather hazards on Earth and in space," Nelson added.
• The satellites are expected to help predict space weather near Earth that can interfere with satellite electronics, GPS, and radio communications.
• GOES-U is the first of the four to include a coronagraph, called the Compact Coronagraph-1 (CCOR-1). Coronagraphs block the Sun's disk and allow observation of its outermost layer, called the corona.

• Applications of the satellite data include tracking changes in climate and providing critical information before severe weather and natural disasters, according to Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
• Elsayed Talaat, in charge of space weather observations at NOAA, told AFP that the CCOR-1 will enable improved forecasts of solar flares and coronal mass ejections that disrupt the Earth’s magnetic field and affect power grids and communications.
• In May, the Earth experienced its first level 5 geomagnetic storm in two decades, leading to heatwaves in some parts of the world and auroras in others.
• “With the new coronagraph, the speed and direction of this event could have been better understood from the start. Although the sun is no more active than in previous generations, our society has changed, and we are more sensitive than ever to the sun's changing mood. Once operational CCOR-1 will mark a new chapter in space weather observations,” said Talaat.
• At present, observation of solar flares is received with a delay of up to eight hours through a satellite launched in 1995 and expected to become defunct by 2026. With the CCOR-1 the US will have readings every 30 minutes.

(With inputs from AFP)