New GOES Satellite Up

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 25, 2006

*** NEWS FROM NOAA ***

NEW NOAA ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE LAUNCHED, REACHES ORBIT

NOAA and NASA officials confirmed that a new geostationary
operational environmental satellite, designed to track hurricanes and
other severe weather impacting the nation, successfully reached orbit
last night after it was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station in Florida.

The spacecraft separation occurred four hours and 21 minutes after
the 6:11 p.m. launch. The first signal acquisition occurred six hours
and 30 minutes after the launch at the Air Force Tracking Station,
Diego Garcia, located in the Indian Ocean.

The NOAA satellite - initially called GOES-N - will be designated
GOES-13 once it reaches final orbit. It will supply data critical for
fast, accurate forecasts and warnings for severe weather, including
tornadoes, winter storms and hurricanes. Additionally, it will detect
solar storm activity, relay distress signals from emergency beacons,
monitor the oceans, and scan the landscape for the latest drought and
flood conditions.

"This satellite will serve the nation by monitoring conditions that
trigger dangerous weather, and it will serve the world by
contributing vast amounts of observational data, as part of our
contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems," said
retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Ph.D., under
secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.

GOES-13, the first spacecraft in the new GOES-N/O/P series, features
a highly stable pointing platform, which will improve the performance
of the imager and sounder instruments. GOES-13 also has expanded
measurements for the space and solar environment monitoring
instruments. The satellite also features a new dedicated broadcast
capability to be used by the Emergency Managers Weather Information
Network, and a new digital weather facsimile capability for higher
quality transmissions of data and products.

Once it reaches geostationary orbit, GOES-13 will undergo a series of
tests for approximately six months before completing its "check-out"
phase. After check-out, GOES-13 is expected to be put into a storage
mode at 105 degrees West. It will be ready to replace one of the two
existing NOAA GOES spacecraft should either experience trouble.

NOAA's GOES satellites orbit the equatorial plane of the Earth at a
speed matching the planet's rotation. This allows them to hover
continuously over one position on the surface. The geostationary
orbit is reached at about 22,300 miles above the Earth, high enough
to allow the satellites a full-disc view of the Earth.

NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency
of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic
security and national safety through the prediction and research of
weather and climate-related events and providing environmental
stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.
Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems
(GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and more than 60
countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as
integrated as the planet it observes.

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On the Web:
NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov NOAA's Satellite and Information Service:
http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov