Updated Launch Date/time:  Saturday, November 19th At 542 PM EST From Cape Canaveral. 

Updated Launch date/time:  Saturday, November 19th at 542 PM EST from Cape Canaveral. 

First of advanced environment satellites arrives at Kennedy.

The United State’s latest and most technologically advanced weather satellite was transported from its assembly facility in Colorado to Kennedy Space Center today, August 22. A joint endeavour between NASA and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, the GOES-R satellite weighs in at more than 6,200 pounds. Orbiting more than 22,300 miles above the Earth in Geostationary Transfer Orbit, GOES-R will provide the western hemisphere advanced weather and environmental forecasting technology. GOES-R, which stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, is the first of four third-generation GOES satellites built by Lockheed Martin.

Lofting such a heavy and sensitive satellite across the country required the use of a U.S. Air Force C-5 cargoplane.A t 3:16pm EDT the plane touched down at Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility. Later this evening, the satellite will be transported 17 miles to a clean room facility in nearby Titusville. There, it will undergo unpacking and inspection before prelaunch operations commence. Liftoff is scheduled for 5:40pm EDT on November 4. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will fly in the 541 configuration with a five meter diameter payload fairing, four strap on AJ-60A solid rocket motors, and a single-RL-10 engine on the Centaur upper stage. P/c: NASA, NOAA, Lockheed Martin, Gary Napier.