MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The launch occurred at 23:42 GMT. The liftoff was pushed an hour back after the NASA team had to urgently fix a technical issue in the launch vehicle.
LIFTOFF! @NOAA's #GOESR next-generation weather satellite has launched from @NASAKennedy! Watch: https://t.co/f1K1MFG4sN pic.twitter.com/JOS2JhOIkB
— NASA (@NASA) November 19, 2016
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R, or GOES-R, is a geostationary satellite touted as a "game-changer" and a "life-safer" by the agency.
GOES-R will send images of weather patterns and severe storms back to earth as regularly as every five minutes. This means that forecasts will be timelier, allowing the National Weather Service to make warnings much faster, which will potentially save lives.
