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Satellite signatures of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover launch

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 images from all 16 ABI spectral bands [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 images from all 16 ABI spectral bands [click to play animation | MP4]

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) images from all 16 of the ABI spectral bands (above) revealed a variety of signatures of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the morning of 30 July 2020. Low-level (7.3 µm), Mid-level (6.9 µm) and Upper-level (6.2 µm) Water Vapor images provided the best thermal signature the trail of hot combustion byproducts (water vapor and carbon dioxide) in the wake of the ULA Atlas V rocket booster engines. Closer to the launch site, thermal and reflective signatures of the lower-altitude rocket condensation cloud were seen drifting slowly westward in imagery from all 16 spectral  bands.

Categories: GOES-16, Rocket signatures