BY JUSTIN RAY

Follow the countdown and launch of the GOES-M weather satellite aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas 2A rocket. Reload this page for the very latest on the mission.

Read our earlier status center coverage.

Status summary

Flight data file
Vehicle: Atlas 2A (AC-142)
Payload: GOES-M
Launch date: July 23, 2001
Launch window: 3:02-4:25 a.m. EDT (0701-0825 GMT)
Launch site: SLC-36A, Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Flight profile
Track the major launch events for the Atlas 2A rocket carrying the GOES-M satellite on Spaceflight Now's interactive flight profile page (requires JavaScript).

Pre-launch briefing
Launch timeline - Chart with times and descriptions of events to occur during the launch.

Ground track - See the trajectory the rocket will follow during its flight.

Atlas 2A vehicle data - Overview of the rocket to be used in this launch.

GOES-M - Description of the weather satellite and its role in forecasting.

Launch windows - Listing of the available times to launch in coming days.

Atlas index - A directory of our previous Atlas launch coverage.


Video vault
The following video clips are available for subscribers to our STS-104 Mission Theater:

The GOES-M satellite undergoes prelaunch preparations at the AstroTech facility on the outskirts of the Kennedy Space Center.
  PLAY (361k, 28 sec QuickTime file)
The Centaur upper stage hoisted atop the Atlas 2 rocket at Cape Canaveral's launch complex 36.
  PLAY (550k, 29 sec QuickTime file)
Enclosed in its payload fairing, the GOES-M spacecraft is hoisted atop the Atlas 2 rocket at launch complex 36.
  PLAY (474k, 24 sec QuickTime file)
Get a mission theater subscription to view these video clips.