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GOES-18 GLM signature of the Artemis II Orion crew module re-entry

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-18 Visible image at 2356 UTC on 10 April, with an overlay of GOES-18 GLM Flash Extent Density (blue to red pixels) and GLM Flash Points (white dots) at 2355 UTC [click to enlarge]

As the Artemis II mission (which launched on 01 April) was coming to its successful end late in the day on 10 April 2026, the Orion crew module was approaching the designated landing site off the coast of San Diego, California. The Orion module generated immense heat (up to 5000°F or 2760°C) and a very bright glow as it was re-entering the Earth’s upper atmosphere — and at the point of peak heating (at an altitude around 204000 ft or 62 km) the GOES-18 (GOES-West) GLM instrument interpreted that bright re-entry signature as a southwest-to-northeast streak of lightning at 2355 UTC (above).

A larger-scale image (below) showed that the GOES-18 GLM signature was located over the East Pacific Ocean about midway between Hawai`i and southern California.

GOES-18 Visible image at 2356 UTC on 10 April, with an overlay of GOES-18 GLM Flash Extent Density (blue to red pixels) and GLM Flash Points (white dots) at 2355 UTC [click to enlarge]

A toggle between GOES-18 Infrared, Visible and Visible + GLM Flash Extent Density / Flash Point images (below) showed that there was no deep convection in that area — so the GLM signatures were not associated with meteorological features.

GOES-18 Infrared and Visible images at 2356 UTC, along with the Visible image with an overlay of GLM Flash Extent Density (blue to red pixels) and GLM Flash Points at 2355 UTC (white dots) [click to enlarge]

A GOES-18 GLM Flash Point with the longest duration and largest flash area was located along the leading (northeast) portion of the signature (below).

GOES-18 Visible image at 2356 UTC on 10 April, with a cursor sample of a GLM Flash Point at 2355 UTC [click to enlarge]

Categories: GLM, GOES-18, Rocket signatures