GOES-T is the nickname of a satellite people might not be familiar with - and News 12 meteorologist Meredith Garofalo says it could help save our lives.

In scientific terms, the satellite is a next-generation geostationary environmental satellite that was shipped last week from Colorado to Florida. It looks like a giant toolbox the size of a small school bus.

"When we ship the satellite, it will be 6,200 pounds. And then after it's fueled at the launch site, it will weigh almost 12,000 pounds," says Jagdeep Shergill, GOES-T chief engineer at Lockheed-Martin Space.

GOES-T is the second to last in a series of next generation geostationary environmental satellites. This eye-in-the sky watches over us every day more than 22,000 miles above earth, taking more picture than the average teenager with a cellphone within 24 hours.

"So, what GOES-T will do, especially on the Northeast coast, is give forecasters more accuracy and certainty for where the storms are going and how intense they will be," says Shergill.

When people see our meteorologists showing images and satellite data in daily forecasts, it comes from its sister satellites currently in orbit, providing us 30,000 times more data than the previous satellite series.

And why is that important?

"This has enabled us to create much more accurate weather modeling so that as nor'easters come in, we know how long if they're going to hover, if they're going to stay, more accurately predict how much snow you're going to get," says Arleen Knaub, GOES-R series deputy program manager.

It's designed to help keep everyone safe and protect communities while aiding meteorologists with severe weather forecasts, developing tropical systems and providing real-time data for wildfires.

"Make forecasts about where those hot spots are going and where the smoke is going. And that can affect everybody pretty much in the U.S.," says Dr. Dan Lindsey, NOAA's GOES-R program scientist.

GOES-T will become GOES-West once in orbit, monitoring the western hemisphere, observing any storm systems well in advance that might impact the tri-state area.

It's currently slated to launch in the spring of 2022.