SpaceX has secured a potential $152.5 million contract from NASA to launch the fourth and final spacecraft for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R series, the space agency’s collaborative acquisition program with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
NASA said Saturday it expects the company’s Falcon Heavy rocket to send the GOES-U weather satellite into space in April 2024.
GOES-U is designed to perform atmospheric measurements, collect environmental imagery, map lighting activity and monitor space weather.
The spacecraft will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA previously awarded SpaceX a $178 million contract to provide launch services for the Europa Clipper mission to one of Jupiter’s moons by October 2024.