Lightning strike delays satellite launch

The launch of the NOAA weather satellite was postponed Sunday due to inclement weather

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Florida (CNN) -- Bad weather forced a delay of at least 24 hours for the launch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's latest weather satellite, according to a NASA spokesman.

Lightning struck early Saturday evening on the launch pad adjacent to the one from which an Atlas IIA rocket will boost the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-M) satellite into orbit.

Procedures require a systems check when a lightning strike occurs in the vicinity of the rocket preparing to launch, according to NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham. As a result, mission managers called off the countdown for a Sunday morning launch.

Additional assessments were to be conducted throughout the night. Following these checks, managers will assess the next launch opportunity.

MORE STORIES Shuttle Atlantis heads home   Moonwalk anniversary     RESOURCES Message board: Space exploration

NOAA's GOES satellites orbit the earth in a geosynchronous orbit, meaning they match the speed of the earth's rotation and thus remain "stationary" over a particular location. At 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the surface of the planet, the satellites' view is broad enough to track atmospheric "triggers" for severe weather.

The GOES-M satellite, which will be renamed GOES-12 when it reaches its orbit 17 days after launch, will use a solar x-ray imager to record an image of the sun's atmosphere each minute. Weather experts and U.S. Air Force officials will use that data to predict the severity of solar disturbances, which could cause surges that could destroy satellite electronics or disrupt some kinds of radio communications.

"The GOES-M satellite is much more than our latest weather sentinel in the heavens," said Scott Gudes, acting administrator of NOAA. "It will give our space weather forecasters the tools to better detect the sun's solar storms and predict how these solar flares might impact power grids and electronic systems on Earth."

The GOES satellite's weather instruments will also send back valuable information, which, when combined with Doppler radars on the ground, will help weather forecasters better predict and track hurricanes, thunderstorms and winter storms.

NOAA currently operates two other GOES satellites: GOES-10, launched in 1997, is overlooking the West Coast out into the Pacific including Hawaii, and GOES-8, launched in April 1994, is overlooking the East Coast out into the Atlantic Ocean.

GOES-12 will provide the solar flare data and other tasks, and will eventually become a replacement for either GOES-8 or GOES-10.