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Satellite launched by Atlas V detects Delta IV launch from Cape

Emre Kelly
FLORIDA TODAY

Consider it an example of being in the right place at the right time.

In this case, the right place and time was 22,300 miles above Earth in a geostationary orbit on Saturday at 8:18 p.m. That's when GOES-16, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite launched from the Space Coast in November 2016 on an Atlas V rocket, captured the launch of a Delta IV rocket with a military satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The National Weather service in Melbourne tweeted about the GOES-16 detection, which included heat and moisture plumes left in the wake of Delta IV's blastoff from Launch Complex 37.

The United Launch Alliance rocket was built to its most powerful configuration and included four strap-on solid rocket motors. On board was the ninth in the Air Force's Wideband Global SATCOM constellation, or WGS-9, which will help expand the Department of Defense's need for more communications bandwidth.

The $1 billion GOES-16 satellite built by Lockheed Martin was designed to improve forecasting of severe weather events, including hurricanes. Known as GOES-R before launch, the satellite officially became GOES-16 about two weeks after liftoff, according to the NOAA.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter at @EmreKelly and on Facebook at Emre Kelly.

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