Witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational weather satellite

Better images and data will undoubtedly lead to better weather forecasts.

Read the whole story

 

[iPirateEverything]

Don't worry, I've seen these things in past "documentaries"! There's a vulnerability in it's center...

 

[Kressilac]

OMG that is terrifying. I don't want to die.

 

[NoSkill]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

 

[peterford]

awesome headline

The level of upgrades between GOES15 and GOES16 is amazing! Are the remaining GOES-R satellites going to be identical to GOES16, or will they be upgraded over time?

 

[ApplePaladin]

Last January I would have been more excited about this. Now I look at it, think this could give us great data, and wonder how long until the new administration orders it turned off.

 

[Belisarius]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

Actually, this satellite coming on line will be fantastic for the Trump administration – think about how many facts they'll have to deny! It's like Alternative Fact Christmas.

 

[Statistical]

Very excited about the capabilities of GOES-16 (GOES-R). Also bonus points for the headline. Lets hope the latest GOES and the entire constellation last a very very very long time. I think there is a non zero chance of GOES-S (2018) and GOES-T (2019) being cancelled prior to launch in the current political climate. So this might be as good as it gets for a while.

If one of these sats needs a replacement in the next four years it is going to be something like this:

 

[BoB_the_HuN]

When do they expect to start full operation of the new satellite? I remember something from launch about a 12 month certification after reaching orbit before weather models will use the new data.

As poor as the 5 day forecasts have been here in the southern US improved forecasts cant come too soon.

 

[WhyNotZoidberg]

Belisarius[/url]":3dtlkyb9]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

Actually, this satellite coming on line will be fantastic for the Trump administration – think about how many facts they'll have to deny! It's like Alternative Fact Christmas.

This satellite launch is a Chinese conspiracy to distract the US from the fact that Trump's inauguration was the largest in history. Over 700 Million Americans were on the mall that day.

/s

Did I 'Trump Supporter' good?

 

[Statistical]

Sometimes seeing a sat without any context makes it difficult to apreciate the scale. This is the primary imager on GOES-16. It observes in 16 different wavelengths from visible to infared.

 

[DOOManiac]

Our dumb planet sure is pretty.

 

[KeyboardWeeb]

What, no Ghostbusters reference for the Gozer satellite?

 

[Belisarius]

Belisarius[/url]":y1tjto6d]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

Actually, this satellite coming on line will be fantastic for the Trump administration – think about how many facts they'll have to deny! It's like Alternative Fact Christmas.

This satellite launch is a Chinese conspiracy to distract the US from the fact that Trump's inauguration was the largest in history. Over 700 Million Americans were on the mall that day.



Did I 'Trump Supporter' good?

Have you considered a career as a Presidential Press Secretary? Your willingness to overlook reality is a huge plus; how do you feel about arm bands?

Edit: I failed to make clear that the above was sarcasm – I get WhyNotZoidberg's point all too well.

 

[archtop]

Why is the demarcation between the Earth's atmosphere and space so sharp in that first image? Usually the atmosphere gives the Earth a fuzzy edge. (No, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I just am curious)

 

[microlith]

archtop[/url]":1rly4rt9]Why is the demarcation between the Earth's atmosphere and space so sharp in that first image? Usually the atmosphere gives the Earth a fuzzy edge. (No, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I just am curious)

The GOES satellites sit in geosynchronous orbit, which is much too far out for the atmosphere to provide a hazing effect.

 

[WhyNotZoidberg]

Belisarius[/url]":9tisphq1]

Belisarius[/url]":9tisphq1]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

Actually, this satellite coming on line will be fantastic for the Trump administration – think about how many facts they'll have to deny! It's like Alternative Fact Christmas.

This satellite launch is a Chinese conspiracy to distract the US from the fact that Trump's inauguration was the largest in history. Over 700 Million Americans were on the mall that day.



Did I 'Trump Supporter' good?

Have you considered a career as a Presidential Press Secretary? Your willingness to overlook reality is a huge plus; how do you feel about arm bands?

Umm. Did you not see the sarcasm oozing from my post?

Yuge supporter of arm bands.

 

[zuccini]

archtop[/url]":1sd5yd6s]Why is the demarcation between the Earth's atmosphere and space so sharp in that first image? Usually the atmosphere gives the Earth a fuzzy edge. (No, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I just am curious)

The atmosphere is really thin, about 100km high and the part that you see in photos from low orbit is even thinner. Geosynchronous orbit is about 35,786km high. Earth diameter is about 12,742km. So on this scale, the atmosphere is too thin to see.

 

[Belisarius]

Belisarius[/url]":2f8ettke]

Belisarius[/url]":2f8ettke]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

Actually, this satellite coming on line will be fantastic for the Trump administration – think about how many facts they'll have to deny! It's like Alternative Fact Christmas.

This satellite launch is a Chinese conspiracy to distract the US from the fact that Trump's inauguration was the largest in history. Over 700 Million Americans were on the mall that day.



Did I 'Trump Supporter' good?

Have you considered a career as a Presidential Press Secretary? Your willingness to overlook reality is a huge plus; how do you feel about arm bands?

Umm. Did you not see the sarcasm oozing from my post?

Yes, I did – sorry if it wasn't clear, I was (trying to) continue on that sarcastic note.

 

[WDReinhart]

Dear Ars,
I get the desire to A/B test headlines for maximal clickbaitiness, but when I giggle at the A headline and send a link off to a friend, and she clicks through and sees the lame-o "NOAA's new weather satellite takes awesome photos" B headline, it makes me think twice about sharing Ars links.

 

[Belisarius]

Dear Ars,
I get the desire to A/B test headlines for maximal clickbaitiness, but when I giggle at the A headline and send a link off to a friend, and she clicks through and sees the lame-o "NOAA's new weather satellite takes awesome photos" B headline, it makes me think twice about sharing Ars links.

It also makes things like the very first comment in this thread seem like a non sequitur.

 

[iPirateEverything]

Belisarius[/url]":3htzpagq]

Belisarius[/url]":3htzpagq]

Belisarius[/url]":3htzpagq]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

Actually, this satellite coming on line will be fantastic for the Trump administration – think about how many facts they'll have to deny! It's like Alternative Fact Christmas.

This satellite launch is a Chinese conspiracy to distract the US from the fact that Trump's inauguration was the largest in history. Over 700 Million Americans were on the mall that day.



Did I 'Trump Supporter' good?

Have you considered a career as a Presidential Press Secretary? Your willingness to overlook reality is a huge plus; how do you feel about arm bands?

Umm. Did you not see the sarcasm oozing from my post?

Yes, I did – sorry if it wasn't clear, I was (trying to) continue on that sarcastic note.

Happened to me a few times as well, sarcasm does not hit all people's detectors and I started getting downvotes... that silly /s tag really IS needed.

HTH

 

[technofiler]

peterford[/url]":z8gasp4r]awesome headline

The level of upgrades between GOES15 and GOES16 is amazing! Are the remaining GOES-R satellites going to be identical to GOES16, or will they be upgraded over time?

S, T, and U are all in production currently with S nearing completion.

There are no major differences between them that I've seen personally

 

[SaaSaFRaaS]

got2bereal[/url]":3ajzvvw9]Too bad Trump didn't get to broker these deals, whether you love or hate him. He's the best in the business when it comes to getting a better deal. Politicians simply pass on the cost to tax payers without any negotiations.

No, he isn't. Not even close.

 

[.劉煒]

God, can y'all stop shitting up every @$%@#$ thread with political crap?

..

Awesome satellite. Anyone have technical details?

 

[ApplePaladin]

got2bereal[/url]":368ws3ki]Too bad Trump didn't get to broker these deals, whether you love or hate him. He's the best in the business when it comes to getting a better deal. Politicians simply pass on the cost to tax payers without any negotiations.

Generally speaking, people who are "the best in the business" don't put their businesses through multiple bankruptcies in a relatively short amount of time.

 

[bikechess]

Thats no moon!

 

[WhyNotZoidberg]

Belisarius[/url]":52hnxnjr]

Belisarius[/url]":52hnxnjr]

Belisarius[/url]":52hnxnjr]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

Actually, this satellite coming on line will be fantastic for the Trump administration – think about how many facts they'll have to deny! It's like Alternative Fact Christmas.

This satellite launch is a Chinese conspiracy to distract the US from the fact that Trump's inauguration was the largest in history. Over 700 Million Americans were on the mall that day.



Did I 'Trump Supporter' good?

Have you considered a career as a Presidential Press Secretary? Your willingness to overlook reality is a huge plus; how do you feel about arm bands?

Umm. Did you not see the sarcasm oozing from my post?

Yes, I did – sorry if it wasn't clear, I was (trying to) continue on that sarcastic note.

No worries. My detector is off today, apparently.

 

[Veritas super omens]

WhyNotZoidberg[/url]":39yb6b6p]

Belisarius[/url]":39yb6b6p]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

Actually, this satellite coming on line will be fantastic for the Trump administration – think about how many facts they'll have to deny! It's like Alternative Fact Christmas.

This satellite launch is a Chinese conspiracy to distract the US from the fact that Trump's inauguration was the largest in history. Over 700 Million Americans were on the mall that day.

/s

Did I 'Trump Supporter' good?

yeth, u r deplorbul

 

[Fatesrider]

GOES-R?

A new and powerful entity in the sky?

Will it detect a PKE reading that compares to a Twinkie* thirty-five feet long weighing approximately six-hundred pounds?

Will Egon, Ray and Peter and Winston be okay with it, or will they have to battle it to the death from the ISS using unlicensed particle accelerators?

Just curious.

(*Site corrects that math!)

 

[Veritas super omens]

MHStrawn[/url]":397ua6ik]

WDReinhart[/url]":397ua6ik]Dear Ars,
I get the desire to A/B test headlines for maximal clickbaitiness, but when I giggle at the A headline and send a link off to a friend, and she clicks through and sees the lame-o "NOAA's new weather satellite takes awesome photos" B headline, it makes me think twice about sharing Ars links.

I'm curious...what did you think a story about a "fully armed and operational weather sattelite" would be about? Doesn't it warrant at least a cursory review before flipping over to someone else?

He/she linked the Ars article with a comment on the reference. Friend clicks link gets "b" title and goes "huh?".

 

[RocketFeathers]

How does the data (the photographs, scans) become (part of the?) input data for weather modelling software?

I am guessing you need temperature, pressure, RH, wind direction, densities, and various alt, long, at various heights, terrain mapping, ocean temps, directions, densities. and I am guessing the data from the satellite is but one aspect of data gathered. and I am guessing there are PhDs involved in all this, cuz just sitting here typing this up I am already boggled by the amount of data required.

 

[adfad666]

Or just ask Trump, he already knows the answer.

RocketFeathers[/url]":16jd0rnx]How does the data (the photographs, scans) become (part of the?) input data for weather modelling software?

I am guessing you need temperature, pressure, RH, wind direction, densities, and various alt, long, at various heights, terrain mapping, ocean temps, directions, densities. and I am guessing the data from the satellite is but one aspect of data gathered. and I am guessing there are PhDs involved in all this, cuz just sitting here typing this up I am already boggled by the amount of data required.

 

[mmiller7]

NoSkill[/url]":1mu0yxi7]Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

And may or may not have "an unexpected failure after colliding with space debris" if any data suggests global-warming exists.

 

[Veritas super omens]

adfad666[/url]":1igggkxi]Or just ask Trump, he already knows the answer.

RocketFeathers[/url]":1igggkxi]How does the data (the photographs, scans) become (part of the?) input data for weather modelling software?

I am guessing you need temperature, pressure, RH, wind direction, densities, and various alt, long, at various heights, terrain mapping, ocean temps, directions, densities. and I am guessing the data from the satellite is but one aspect of data gathered. and I am guessing there are PhDs involved in all this, cuz just sitting here typing this up I am already boggled by the amount of data required.

Kathy Sullivan head of NOAA was on Tysons "Star Talk" last week and discussed some of that. They gather data from all over the world. Interesting lady.

 

[ChickenHawk]

got2bereal[/url]":1ak2wont]Too bad Trump didn't get to broker these deals, whether you love or hate him. He's the best in the business when it comes to getting a better deal. Politicians simply pass on the cost to tax payers without any negotiations.

No, they don't. I mean come on, that doesn't even pass the basic smell test. The idea that politicians pass the cost on is ridiculous.

First of all, its not them who actually manage the project. Sure they'll be there for the photo op, but its Bureacrats who will do all of the work and get none of the credit. Second, except in certain sensitive fields they'll be required to put the project/item out to "Tender", which is at its core a silent-auction style process to get the prefered bidder. They'll then negociate specifics with them.... I mean none of this is secret, its on the record, you can FOI that stuff, and you'll probably read abuot the bigger ones in the newspaper...

 

[SpecTP]

Belisarius[/url]":358g6g6v]

Belisarius[/url]":358g6g6v]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

Actually, this satellite coming on line will be fantastic for the Trump administration – think about how many facts they'll have to deny! It's like Alternative Fact Christmas.

This satellite launch is a Chinese conspiracy to distract the US from the fact that Trump's inauguration was the largest in history. Over 700 Million Americans were on the mall that day.



Did I 'Trump Supporter' good?

Have you considered a career as a Presidential Press Secretary? Your willingness to overlook reality is a huge plus; how do you feel about arm bands?

Edit: I failed to make clear that the above was sarcasm – I get WhyNotZoidberg's point all too well.

The Iraqi Information Minister's meme has become relevant again.

 

[ChickenHawk]

SpecTP[/url]":25btzncq]

Belisarius[/url]":25btzncq]

Belisarius[/url]":25btzncq]

Upon successful bootup, GOES was immediately defunded by executive order on the grounds that it was a conspiracy to prove weather exists.

Actually, this satellite coming on line will be fantastic for the Trump administration – think about how many facts they'll have to deny! It's like Alternative Fact Christmas.

This satellite launch is a Chinese conspiracy to distract the US from the fact that Trump's inauguration was the largest in history. Over 700 Million Americans were on the mall that day.



Did I 'Trump Supporter' good?

Have you considered a career as a Presidential Press Secretary? Your willingness to overlook reality is a huge plus; how do you feel about arm bands?

Edit: I failed to make clear that the above was sarcasm – I get WhyNotZoidberg's point all too well.

The Iraqi Information Minister's meme has become relevant again.

I was more reminded of one of Mugabe's spokesmen in a BBC interview about a decade back, during one of their economic crisis the BBC had reports that shop shelves were running low on items such as bread...

The spokesman responded with:

"No, those reports are nonsense. The store shelves are full of things to buy, in fact, bread is the thing there is the most of". It was as if the longer he talked, the more he just discredited himself with the extra detail offered.

Trump's guy was the same. The more he tried to get into specifics, the siller he looked.

Had he have said Trump had pulled a large crowd, he'd be correct. Even on NYT's low numbers we'd grudgingly have to atmit 150k is a lot of people.

Then when he claimed it was the most watched Innaugration, or his completely wrong metro figures, he just ended up looking deluded.