The launch of GOES-U, the fourth and last satellite in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) – R Series, is currently scheduled for Tuesday, June 25, by NASA and SpaceX. The revised launch date gives engineers more time to thoroughly inspect and test the Falcon Heavy core rocket, which was found to have a liquid oxygen leak in February during standard testing of new boosters. The GOES-U launch preparations have been taken up by the teams from NASA and SpaceX. At the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Launch Complex 39A will see the launch of GOES-U atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Through an integrated NOAA-NASA office, NOAA is in charge of the GOES-R Series Program. It also manages the ground system, pilots the satellites, and disseminates their data to customers globally. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center developed the Magnetometer instrument for GOES-T and GOES-U in addition to overseeing the acquisition of the spacecraft and equipment. The Kennedy Space Center-based NASA Launch Services Program is in charge of overseeing the launch services for the GOES missions. The GOES-R series satellites are designed, constructed, and tested by Lockheed Martin. The principal instrument, the Advanced Baseline Imager, and the ground equipment, which consists of the data reception antenna system, are supplied by L3Harris Technologies.