Christmas is coming early for meteorologists. At 5:42pm ET Saturday, the United Launch Alliance will blast the GOES-R satellite into space for NOAA. This new instrument will provide real-time data and images to aid in the forecasting various types of weather, from hurricanes on Earth to solar storms. NASA TV will provide live coverage beginning at 5:10pm ET.

All manner of superlatives have been applied to this first of a new generation of weather satellites—fastest, best, clearest—in terms of data and images beamed back to Earth. Mission scientists say GOES-R bridges the divide from an era when most people got their weather information at 10 from a TV personality to when everyone carries a 10-day forecast in their pocket. Or, they say, it is like going from black-and-white television to high-definition.