March 3, 2009

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
george.h.diller{at}nasa.gov

Cynthia M. O'Carroll
Goddard Space Flight Center
301-286-4647
cynthia.m.ocarroll{at}nasa.gov

John Leslie
NOAA National Environmental Satellite
Data and Information Service
301-713-2087
john.leslie{at}noaa.gov

RELEASE: 10-09

GOES-O SATELLITE ARRIVES AT KENNEDY FOR FINAL PRELAUNCH TESTING

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The latest Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite, GOES, developed by NASA for the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, called GOES-O,
arrived Tuesday on a C-17 military cargo aircraft at the Kennedy
Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility from its manufacturing plant
in El Segundo, Calif.

The GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch April 28 onboard a United
Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle. Once in orbit,
GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit
checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. GOES-O
will be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES
satellite.

After arriving, the satellite was transported to Astrotech in
Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system,
instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed.
These tests will take approximately six weeks to complete. Then the
spacecraft will be fueled with propellant for the attitude control
system, encapsulated in the nose fairing and prepared for transport
to the launch pad.

GOES-O is the second spacecraft to be launched in the GOES N-P series
of geostationary environmental weather satellites. The GOES
satellites continuously provide observations of 60 percent of the
Earth including the continental United States, providing weather
monitoring and forecast operations as well as a continuous and
reliable stream of environmental information and severe weather
warnings.

GOES-O carries an advanced attitude control system using star
trackers
with spacecraft optical bench Imager and Sounder mountings that
provide enhanced instrument pointing performance for improved image
navigation and registration to better locate severe storms and other
events important to the NOAA National Weather Service. The Imager on
GOES-O has improved resolution in the 13 micron channel from 8 km to
4 km. The finer spatial resolution allows improved estimates of
horizontal distribution of cloud-top, height of atmospheric motion
vectors, and volcanic ash detection. In addition, the GOES-O image
navigation accuracy of about 2 km from an orbit altitude of about
22,300 miles, or 35,700 km, is superior compared to the previous
series of GOES satellites.

The multi-mission GOES N-P Series of satellites are vital
contributors
to weather, solar, and space operations and future science
improvements with weather prediction and remote sensing. These
satellites aid in severe storm warnings, resource management, search
and rescue, emergency managers, and likely lead to additional
advances in environmental sciences and multifaceted data applications
of remotely sensed phenomena. GOES-O data will add to the global
climate change databases of knowledge, embracing many civil and
government environmental forecasting organizations that work to
benefit people everywhere and help save lives.

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle was
erected Feb. 25 at Space Launch Complex 37-B, Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station, Fla. NOAA manages the operational environmental
satellite program and establishes requirements, provides all funding
and distributes operational environmental satellite data for the
United States. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.,
procures and manages the development and launch of the satellites for
NOAA on a cost reimbursable basis.

United Launch Alliance will conduct the commercial launch with a
Federal Aviation Administration launch license. They will also
oversee launch service duties that include oversight of the launch
vehicle processing activities, integration of the GOES-O spacecraft
with the Delta IV rocket and the launch countdown activities.

For more information about GOES-O and the geostationary satellites,
visit:

http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov/

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