GOES-16 views the SpaceX Launch
Imagery from CSPP Geosphere (direct link), above, shows the condensation trail produced by the launch of the SpaceX rocket. Only routine CONUS 5-minute scanning was available to view the launch; very active weather over the southern Plains caused the GOES-16 mesoscale sectors to be positioned north and west of Florida. The 2303 UTC launch (news link), shortly before sunset, created a crescent-shaped condensation trail at 2306 UTC as denoted by the arrow in the animation above. After sunset, Night Microphysics RGB imagery highlights the plume (also highlighted by the arrow) because of its different temperature compared to its surroundings. The rocket is destined for the Space Station and a crew exchange (News article).
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A special Mesoscale Domain Sector from GOES-19 (Preliminary/Non-operational data) provided imagery at 30-second intervals — and Rocket Plume RGB images created using Geo2Grid (below) revealed thermal signatures of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s Stage 1 booster engines during the first 4 minutes after launch. The “boost-back burn” (to initiate the Stage 1 booster’s return to the launch site) signature was particularly notable at 23:06:55 UTC.
30-second GOES-19 Rocket Plume RGB images, from 23:03:25 UTC to 23:07:55 UTC on 14 March (courtesy Scott Bachmeier, CIMSS) [click to play animated GIF | MP4]
A closer view using 30-second GOES-19 Near-Infrared (1.38 µm / Band 4, 1.61 µm / Band 5 and 2.24 µm / Band 6) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm / Band 7) images (below) displayed thermal signatures of the Stage 1 booster engines as the Falcon 9 rocket rapidly ascended northeast away from Cape Canaveral during the initial 2 minutes post-launch. In its wake, a more subtle signature of the rocket condensation cloud (that was highlighted above in GOES-16 RGB imagery) could be seen in the GOES-19 Band 4/5/6 images.
30-second GOES-19 Near-Infrared (1.38 µm, top left / 1.61 µm, top right / 2.24 µm, bottom left) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm, bottom right) images (courtesy Scott Bachmeier, CIMSS) [click to play animated GIF | MP4]