Atlas 5

NOAA weather satellite ready for launch after repairs to main camera

A new NOAA weather satellite destined to track cyclones, wildfires, and solar flares from a perch high above the Western United States and Pacific Ocean is set for liftoff Tuesday from Cape Canaveral on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. The GOES-T satellite will launch with modifications to its main imaging camera, changes designed to avoid a minor cooling system problem that afflicted NOAA’s previous geostationary weather monitor sent into space four years ago.

Atlas 5

Live coverage: Atlas 5 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral

United Launch Alliance’s first mission of the year debuted a new configuration of the company’s workhorse Atlas 5 rocket when it lifted off at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) Friday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The rocket, featuring a wide fairing and a single solid rocket booster, is carrying two U.S. military tracking and inspection satellites into geosynchronous orbit during a nearly seven-hour flight sequence.

Atlas 5

ULA’s first launch of 2022 to debut unflown variant of Atlas 5 rocket

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket has flown in 10 different configurations over 90 missions since 2002, each version optimized to haul satellites of a certain size and mass into space. The only variant of the Atlas 5 rocket yet to fly is set to launch Friday afternoon from Cape Canaveral with a pair of satellites to help the U.S. military keep track of traffic in geosynchronous orbit.