Geostationary operational environmental satellites enableNOAA forecasters to track life-threatening weather — such ashurricanes, floods, and tornadoes — along with solar activity thatcan impact various industries.

Now the fourth (and final) operational satellite in the agency'slatest line has snapped its first visible image of Earth. Launchedon March 4 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., GOES-15 joins three otherNOAA operational satellites designed to capture higher resolutionimages of weather patterns and atmospheric measurements than thoseprovided by earlier satellites.

The higher resolution, NOAA says, affords forecasters greateraccuracy in pinpointing the location of severe weather. After fivemore months of tests, NASA will officially hand over GOES-15 toNOAA, which will place the satellite in orbital storage mode. Itwill be ready for activation if any of the agency's operationalGOES spacecraft experiences trouble.

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