Forecast Favorable For Atlas V GOES-S Launch Thursday Written 27 February 2018
Florida Today favorable Space Coast skies after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Thursday, according to forecasters.” The US Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron anticipates 80 percent “go” conditions from NASA’s Launch Complex 41 during a “two-hour window that opens at 5:03 p.m.” Thursday, and the “possible presence of cumulus clouds was cited as the only weather-related concern.” The Lockheed Martin-built GOES-S “will be tasked with maintaining a watchful gaze over wildfires, tropical cyclones and other weather hazards,” and is the second in a series of satellites intended to help improve US weather forecasting. The Atlas V’s “rollout to the pad” from ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility is expected Wednesday.