Resources to educate students, teachers, and the general public about meteorology, space science, earth-observing satellites, weather phenomena and benefits GOES-R will provide to society.
Information and resources to ensure that the user community is prepared for the new types of satellite imagery and data that will be available from the GOES-R satellite series.
GOES-R and GOES-S will launch aboard an Atlas
V 541 ELV similar to the one shown above.
The Launch Vehicle that will place the GOES-R and GOES-S satellites into geosynchronous orbit will be an Atlas V 541 expendable launch vehicle (ELV). The term expendable launch vehicle means each vehicle is only used once. The three numbers in the 541 designation signify a payload fairing, or nose cone, that is approximately 5 meters (16.4 feet) in diameter; four solid-rocket boosters fastened alongside the central common core booster; and a one-engine Centaur upper stage.
A launch vehicle is chosen based on how much mass the vehicle can lift into space. A two-stage Atlas V 541 launch vehicle was selected for the GOES-R and S launches because it has the right liftoff capability for the heavy weight requirements.
The GOES-R and GOES-S spacecraft will launch October 2015 and February 2017, respectively, aboard Atlas V 541 rockets from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Prime Contractor
NASA Kennedy Space Center awarded the launch services contract for the GOES-R and GOES-S satellite missions to United Launch Alliance of Centennial, CO in April 2012.
Launch Vehicle Specifications
Type
Atlas V 541
Height and Payload
191 feet (58 meters)
Mass
1.17 million pounds
(531,000 kilograms)
Stage 1: Atlas V Rocket: Fuel and oxygen tanks that feed an engine for the ascent; powers spacecraft into Earth orbit.
Solid Rocket Motors: Used to increase engine thrust; 4 total.
Stage 2: Centaur: Fuel and oxidizer and the vehicle's "brains"; fires twice, once to insert the vehicle-spacecraft stack into low Earth orbit and then again to accelerate the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and on its way towards Mars.
Payload Fairing: Thin composite or nose cone to protect the spacecraft during the ascent through Earth's atmosphere.
