June 28, 2024

Last of a groundbreaking set of Earth observing satellites launches

Colorado State University’s CIRA and Atmospheric Science researchers gathered to watch a livestream of the last of a series of groundbreaking Earth observing satellites, called GOES-U, launching successfully from the Kennedy Space Center on June 25. The launch of GOES-U comes in advance of the next-generation GeoXO satellite system scheduled to begin operating in the early 2030s.

The CSU community celebrated the accomplishments of the joint NOAA and NASA team to commemorate the accomplishments of CSU contributors and in anticipation of how CSU researchers will use the GOES-U satellite for future weather research.

“Getting GOES-U successfully into orbit represents the culmination of decades of work by thousands of scientists and engineers. GOES-U will bridge the gap between the GOES-R series and GeoXO, scheduled for its first launch in 2032,” said Dan Lindsey, the NOAA GOES-R Program’s lead scientist. Lindsey works out of CIRA, or the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, a collaboration between NOAA and CSU.

Lindsey completed his doctorate through the Department of Atmospheric Science in CSU’s Walter Scott Jr., College of Engineering in 2008. After working for NOAA’s Center for Satellite Applications and Research, Lindsey moved over to the GOES-R program in 2020, which has launched four satellites in total in the GOES-R series, including its last member, GOES-U.