This week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shared the first images taken by its geostationary orbiting environmental satellite goes-18. It shows people the natural landscape images of storms, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, clouds and so on.
It is reported that a satellite named goes-18 was launched at 4:38 p.m. local time on March 1. Goes-18 is a geostationary satellite. It stays in an orbit 22236 miles (35800 kilometers) above the equator. It can continuously observe the Western Hemisphere and track the earth all the time. Alreen Knaub, deputy project manager of goes-t, said: "we have 30 times more data on this satellite than previous satellites. At present, we are studying space weather, solar weather and earth weather through this satellite."
According to the new image, the satellite is running as expected. "Goes-18 is currently conducting post launch testing, verification and calibration of its instruments and systems to prepare for operation," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement. If all goes well, the satellite will get a new name goes West in early 2023, and then it will replace the existing goes-17 satellite facing technical challenges.
In the future, goes-18 will become an important tool for weather forecasting and tracking storms and disasters.