A Space-X rocket is scheduled to take a powerful weather satellite into orbit Tuesday, as long as the weather permits.
The GOES-U satellite is the last of four in its series to go into space. NOAA’s Dr. Elsayed Talaat told KNX News’ Karen Adams the satellite is going to be busy detecting dangerous weather on Earth in real time.
“It provides 24/7 imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth's western hemisphere. It also provides real time mapping of lightning activity and detection of solar activity and monitoring of space weathers,” he said.
Talaat explained that tracking lightning activity will help to forecast whether or not a storm will produce damaging winds, hail, or tornadoes.
“It also detects wildfires, fog, dust storms, flash flooding, as well as the hurricanes,” he said.
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
The satellite is key to helping scientists detect the electromagnetic storms that gave Southern California a view of the northern lights.
The launch is scheduled for 2:16 p.m. PT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok