Weather satellite extends beyond mission, into classrooms

GOES-R launch

After a successful mid-November launch, the GOES-R weather satellite, a joint project between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has reached its destination more than 22,000 miles from Earth. In approximately two months, it will be in lockstep rotation with the Earth and provide continuous weather coverage over the continental U.S.

As researchers and engineers now work to get the system online and calibrated, schoolteachers from around the country are already taking their experiences from the launch back to the classroom through a multi-year program spearheaded by Margaret Mooney, director of education and public outreach at the UW–Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS). That program culminated in a two-day workshop at the Nov. 19 launch.