NASA has selected United Launch Services, LLC of Englewood, Colo., to launch the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R and S, or GOES-R and GOES-S. The spacecraft will launch in October 2015 and February 2017, respectively, aboard Atlas V 541 rockets from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

The total cost of the GOES-R and GOES-S launch services is approximately $446 million. This estimated cost includes launch service for the Atlas V and additional services under other contracts for payload processing, launch vehicle integration, mission unique launch site ground support and tracking, data and telemetry services.

The advanced spacecraft and instrument technology used on GOES-R and GOES-S will result in more timely and accurate weather forecasts. It will improve detection and observation of meteorological phenomena that directly affect people's lives.

The GOES-R and GOES-S Flight Projects Office, which oversees the development of the Space Segment, is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., The overall GOES-R and GOES-S Program is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NASA's Launch Services Program based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for Atlas V launch vehicle program management and launch services.