Animated launch video – “Getting GOES-R to orbit!” 2:07 0:00 (music) 0:08 soon it will be my time to shine. In outer space. I'm the GOES-R satellite. That stands for 0:16 geostationary operational environmental satellite and the R stands for my order 0:21 in the series of weather satellites. Like my older siblings before me I'll do a 0:26 lot for watching weather but I'm pretty special because I have a lot of new 0:30 gadgets. I'm originally from Colorado but my journey the space has a few stops 0:35 along the way. I'll be shipped in a very special satellite shipping container to 0:40 Kennedy Space Center. Moving around is not easy. I'm over 18 feet wide and 0:46 weigh six thousand pounds. And then things get really exciting. I get loaded 0:52 onto an Atlas V 541 launch vehicle - a big of rocket! Woo! After Atlas and I blast off 1:00 together my compartment separates from the launch vehicle and I continue to 1:04 climb higher and higher. Then I break away completely and unfurl my solar 1:09 panel and antenna. Ahh. After that, I have to use my thrusters to get into just the right position 1:17 22,000 miles above the ground and traveling 1.9 miles per second to keep 1:22 up with Earth's rotation. And then I can officially start my job along with my 1:27 fellow GOES sisters where I take advanced pictures for more accurate 1:31weather forecasts, map lightning in real time, and improve the monitoring of the 1:36 sun's activity. It's going to be so awesome! I can’t wait! (music and credits)