(WJET/WFXP) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched its historic GOES-U satellite Tuesday evening.

The GOES-U satellite soared into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at 5:26 p.m. from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In a matter of hours, the satellite’s solar array was deployed and is now operating under its own power.

Below are some images that were sent to NewsNation affiliate WJET/WFXP by a viewer of the launch from the ground:

GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, and it gets its name from how it orbits Earth. In a geostationary orbit, satellites travel at speeds equal to the Earth’s rotation. This allows them to maintain their positions over specific geographic regions, which allows for continuous observation of the region.

In around two weeks, GOES-U will reach its geostationary orbit at 22,236 miles above Earth, at which point it will be renamed GOES-19. After a thorough check of its operational systems, the satellite will shift into the GOES-East position, replacing GOES-16 in mid-2025.

GOES-U marks a historic point, completing the the GOES-R series of four satellites and are expected to operate into the late 2030s. The GOES-U satellite is also carrying a first-of-its-kind solar coronagraph (CCOR-1), which will be used to help better detect hazardous space weather which could have the potential to affect power and communication systems.

GOES is one of the most valuable tools that our meteorologists and hydrologists have in their observational toolbox. This satellite will add to the current imaging capabilities for hurricanes, fires, severe storms and other life-saving applications, including the new coronagraph that will expand warning lead times for geomagnetic storms.

Ken Graham, NOAA National Weather Service Director

These GOES satellites provide many tools used every day by meteorologists to create forecasts, from real-time lighting strikes to monitoring space weather and solar events.

GOES-U joins the several satellites already in orbit, which help scientists forecast better and more accurately, compiling more data and real-time information faster than ever before.

The next generation of weather satellites is already planned and is known as Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO.) These new GeoXO satellites are expected to begin going into operation in the early 2030s. The first launch is planned for 2032.

According to NOAA’s GeoXO timeline, the first and second satellites will carry an imager, lightning mapper and ocean color instrument. The third is planned to include a sounder and atmospheric composition instrument.

NOAA plans to launch a total of six GeoXO satellites, with three in operation at a time. The agency expect the satellites to be in operation through 2055.