30-second GOES-16 images of ABI spectral bands 01-16, plus a Rocket Plume RGB, from 1301-1308 UTC on 18 November [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

Overlapping 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sectors provided 30-second interval GOES-16 (GOES-East) images from all 16 of the ABI spectral bands plus a Rocket Plume RGB (above) — which displayed signatures of the SpaceX Starship 2 rocket launched from the Starbase facility in Boca Chica Beach, Texas at 1302 UTC on 18 November 2023. The rocket booster condensation cloud was evident in images from all 16 spectral bands, as it began to drift slowly southeastward away from the Texas coast — and the ascending rocket booster’s thermal signature was seen in Near-Infrared and Infrared spectral bands 03-16, as well as the Rocket Plume RGB.

A close-up view using 16-panel displays of all GOES-16 ABI spectral bands (below) showed that a reflectance signature of the rocket booster was evident in Visible and Near-Infrared bands 01/02/03/05/06 at 13:02:55 UTC (along with a warm thermal signature in bands 07 and 11-15). After that time, warm thermal signatures then became apparent in all Near-Infrared and Infrared spectral bands (03-16) as the rocket began its ascent.

16-panel display of all GOES-16 ABI spectral bands, from 1301-1303 UTC on 18 November [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

A larger-scale look at GOES-16 Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 µm), Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm), Low-level Water Vapor (7.3 µm) and Rocket Plume RGB images (below) allowed a signature of the Stage 2 rocket to be followed farther east across the Gulf of Mexico:

GOES-16 Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 µm), Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm), Low-level Water Vapor (7.3 µm) and Rocket Plume RGB images, from 1301-1309 UTC on 18 November [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

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