Certainly good news. We meteorologists rely heavily on the GOES weather satellite program. GOES 14 made to space just a couple days ago. These satellites are geostationary, which means they hover over the same spot above the Earth, traveling or spinning at the same rate as the Earth spins to stay put...Here's more from NOAA...

..."NOAA and NASA officials announced a new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), launched tonight, successfully reached orbit, joining three other GOES spacecraft that help NOAA forecasters track life-threatening weather and solar storms.

The new satellite, GOES-14, lifted off at 6:51 p.m. (EDT) from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and separated from the launch vehicle at 11:12 p.m (EDT). At the same time, the first signal was captured at the Air Force Tracking Station, Diego Garcia, located in the Indian Ocean.

"Reliable satellite coverage helps us see severe weather as it develops," said Mary E. Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service. "With more than a thousand tornadoes touching down in the United States each year, and hurricanes a serious risk to residents along the Gulf and East coastlines, it's critical GOES-14 is in orbit and ready when needed."

To learn more about the GOES program go here... very interesting if you didn't know...

GOES Satellites

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