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Blog: New weather satellite to launch in March

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The GOES-S weather satellite is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral on March 1st at 5:02 pm EST. This will be the sister satellite to the GOES-R satellite (now GOES-East) that is currently in space. The east satellite covers the eastern United States and Atlantic Ocean. 

GOES-S will become GOES-West once fully operational after months upon months of rigorous testing. The satellite will cover the western United States, including Alaska and the Hawaiian islands. 

GOES-S is currently at Cape Canaveral in Florida getting prepped to be loaded onto the Atlas 5 rocket. The satellite was made in Aurora, Colorado and then flown to the cape.

This new revolutionary satellite will scan Earth five times faster at four times the image resolution, with triple the number of channels (otherwise known as products available to use) than previous GOES satellites for more accurate, reliable forecasts and severe weather outlooks.

Check out the pictures in the gallery above, including part of the Atlas 5 rocket and fueling of the satellite (so it can be maneuvered in space).