Successful launch! GOES-T liftoff from Florida

Today was the day! GOES-T, our newest weather eye, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida promptly at 4:38 p.m. Eastern Time. The 6,000-pound satellite was launched aboard an Atlas V rocket by the company United Launch Alliance.

The rocket launched at 4:38 p.m. ET, which was nearly perfect weather, as forecasted by the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron at Florida’s Space Coast. They officially forecast the conditions for launches happening at the Kennedy Space Center. The main concern for today's launch was low cumulus clouds, as the winds decreased just in time.

Clouds represent a risk for rocket launches because they can produce lightning when a rocket goes through them. As you can imagine a rocket and lightning is a bad combination as lightning can seriously harm the rocket’s communications, cameras, and load.

The weather cooperated with this afternoon’s launch, but there could always be other obstructions to the launch. Previously, not on recent GOES series satellite launches, there have been launches scrubbed due to boats, or planes in the area. The Space Force and Coast Guard worked together to keep the launch area clear from 2:30 p.m. until 7:15 p.m., extending out to about 64 nautical miles from Cape Canaveral.