New weather satellite reaches orbit
The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite to be launched into space has reached its orbit and unfurled the solar panels.
Built by Boeing, GOES-14 cost $499 million and will orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. It will be positioned to monitor weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern United States.
Eventually the satellite pictures you see during the weathercasts on ABC13 will be taken by GOES-14. But not for awhile. It will take NASA about five months to check all the on-board systems and prepare the weather satellite for daily use. Then operational control will be transferred to NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Once it's ready, NOAA plans to store GOES-14 in orbit. There are currently two older weather satellites in use. Another weather satellite, GOES-13, is also being stored in orbit and is ready to monitor the weather in the Pacific and western United States.
A little known fact about satellites
It's actually cheaper to store the instruments in orbit. It costs over $3 million a year, plus man-power, to store a satellite on the ground. Sitting in space, the satellite uses a little fuel and battery power to maintain its position, but NASA designs the satellite so it can be stored for two years.
The normal life span of a weather satellite is ten years. But like everything NASA builds, they usually last much longer.
Image courtesy NASA/Honeywell Tech Solutions, C. Meaney





























Your Comments