NOAA debuts first imagery from GOES-19

On Sept. 18, 2024, NOAA shared the first images of the Western Hemisphere from its GOES-19 satellite. The satellite’s Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument recently captured stunning views of Earth.

GOES-19, NOAA’s newest geostationary satellite, launched on June 25, 2024, onboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Previously known as GOES-U, the satellite was renamed GOES-19 upon reaching geostationary orbit on July 7, 2024.

GOES-19 orbits 22,236 miles above the equator at the same speed the Earth rotates. This allows the satellite to constantly view the same area of the planet and track weather conditions and hazards as they happen.

The ABI, GOES-19’s primary instrument, views Earth with 16 different channels, each measuring energy at different wavelengths along the electromagnetic spectrum to obtain information about Earth’s atmosphere, land, and ocean.

The ABI provides high-resolution imagery and atmospheric measurements for short-term forecasts and severe weather warnings. ABI data is also used for detecting and monitoring environmental hazards such as wildfires, smoke, dust storms, volcanic eruptions, turbulence and fog.

Data from multiple ABI channels can be combined to create imagery that approximates what the human eye would see from space—a result known as GeoColor.

Recently, GOES-19 observed a number of weather events, environmental phenomena and striking views of our planet. Wildfires in the Midwest and the Amazon blanketed nearby areas with smoke. Storms flared up over the Southeast and a low pressure system over Canada brought severe weather.

Tropical Storm Francine formed in the Gulf of Mexico and quickly developed into a hurricane, making landfall in Louisiana. GOES-19 also captured mesmerizing von Kármán vortices around Guadalupe island, cloudy streets over Virginia, and cumulus clouds over the Midwest.

GOES-19 is currently undergoing post-launch testing, which includes validation and calibration of its instruments, systems and data to prepare it for operations. NOAA plans for GOES-19 to replace GOES-16 as GOES-East in April 2025.

GOES-19 is the final satellite in NOAA’s heralded GOES-R Series and serves as a bridge to a new age of advanced satellite technology. NOAA and NASA are currently developing NOAA’s next generation geostationary satellites, called Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO).

The GeoXO satellite system will advance Earth observations from geostationary orbit. The mission will supply vital information to address major environmental challenges of the future in support of weather, ocean and climate operations in the United States.

The advanced capabilities from GeoXO will help assess our changing planet and the evolving needs of the nation’s data users. NOAA and NASA are working to ensure GeoXO’s critical observations are in place by the early 2030s when the GOES-R Series nears the end of its operational lifetime.