"(Space) weather affects really billions of dollars of assets and the services provided by them, from communication satellites and navigation satellites to electrical power grids, and even impacts the International Space Station," said Steven Hill, SXI Program Manager at NOAA's Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo. "The SXI will provide the kind of improvements in space weather forecasting that satellite imagery did for tracking hurricanes."

Except for the SXI instrument, GOES-M is essentially identical to the other GOES satellites already in orbit over the equator and that provide most of the daily satellite weather pictures commonly seen in newspapers and on television.

Once it is checked out and safely arrives at its final orbital slot, GOES-M will be renamed GOES-12 and serve as a completely functional on-orbit spare that can quickly be pressed into service when another GOES satellite fails.

Currently GOES-8 is stationed over the Atlantic Ocean and GOES-10 is over the Pacific Ocean. GOES-9 and GOES-11 are in orbit as spares, although GOES-9 isn't working properly. The addition of GOES-12 will give NOAA two fully functional spares to back up the operational spacecraft.

"GOES-M will ensure continuity of GOES data, especially for the Atlantic hurricane season," said Gerald Dittberner, the NOAA GOES Program Manager.

GOES-M was carried into space atop an International Launch Services (ILS) Atlas 2A rocket that was procured by NASA for NOAA. Liftoff was at 3:23 a.m. EDT (0723 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's pad 36A and spacecraft separation took place right on time 27 minutes later.

A little more than an hour after launch, the Loral-built spacecraft deployed the outer panel of its electricity-generating solar array and ground controllers reported that all of GOES-M's systems appeared to be healthy.

The launch marked the 56th consecutive successful Atlas flight and the fourth commercial mission so far this year for ILS, which markets both the Atlas and Russian Proton families of launch vehicles.

"We're proud that Atlas has been playing a role in maintaining our nation's weather forecasting ability, by launching all five in the current series of GOES satellites," said ILS President Mark Albrecht.

Launch on Monday was delayed 21 minutes while repairs were made to a radar tracking system on the downrange island of Antigua and because of a tug boat that had to be cleared from the offshore launch danger zone to the east of Cape Canaveral.

Liftoff was originally set for early Sunday morning, but a lightning strike Saturday at nearby pad 36B was too close for comfort and Lockheed Martin managers decided it would be prudent to inspect their Atlas-Centaur rocket to make sure none of the sensitive electronics were damaged and that all of the explosive ordnance systems were still good to fly.

That work was accomplished in time to keep the delay to only one day, and with cooperating weather the 15-story booster was able to fly, not only to deliver its cargo but to clear the Eastern Range of any possibility of conflict with the scheduled return to Florida of shuttle Atlantis early Tuesday.

Atlantis is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center at 12:37 a.m. EDT (0437 GMT).

On Monday, at the time of the Atlas launch, Atlantis and Space Station Alpha were flying over Africa and were too far away to see the rocket.

With this Atlas off the ground, the next launch from Cape Canaveral is scheduled for Friday at 4:08 a.m. EDT (0808 GMT) when an Air Force Titan 4 is to lift off carrying a military missile warning satellite.