US-SPACE-WEATHER-SCIENCE

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) weather satellite Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U (GOES-U) lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, June 25, 2024. The United States on June 25 launched a new satellite expected to significantly improve forecasts of solar flares and coronal mass ejections -- huge plasma bubbles that can crash into Earth, disrupting power grids and communications. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the satellite into orbit took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:26 pm (2126 GMT), the US space agency announced. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images)