GOES-19

GOES-19 (previously designated GOES-U) was launched by NOAA on June 25, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This marked the first GOES mission to fly on a Falcon Heavy, as the three previous GOES-R series satellites launched on Atlas V rockets. The launch was the final satellite in the four-satellite GOES-R series, the most advanced fleet of geostationary weather satellites operated by the United States.

GOES-19 is positioned as the operational GOES-East satellite in geostationary orbit at 75.2° West longitude, taking over from GOES-16. From this position it provides continuous monitoring of the eastern United States, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, and South America. This vantage point is critical for tracking Atlantic hurricanes, severe thunderstorms across the eastern U.S., and weather systems affecting the Caribbean basin.

GOES-19 carries the Compact Coronagraph (CCOR-1), an instrument designed to detect coronal mass ejections from the Sun that was added specifically to this final satellite in the GOES-R series. CCOR-1 provides early warning of solar storms that can disrupt communications, power grids, and satellite operations on Earth. This addresses a capability gap that existed after the retirement of the SOHO satellite's LASCO coronagraph, which had served as the primary space weather monitoring instrument.

GOES-19 was positioned to serve as the new GOES-East satellite, succeeding GOES-16 in that role. GOES-16, launched in 2016, had served as GOES-East since 2017 and was reaching the midpoint of its operational design life. With GOES-19 operational and GOES-18 serving as GOES-West, the GOES-R series is now complete, and the older satellites may be transitioned to on-orbit storage or reassigned roles.