KSC-04pd1668

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Boeing Delta IV first stage spans the entire roadway as it approaches a Security gate at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Two rockets were shipped by barge to Port Canaveral and offloaded onto an Elevating Platform Transporter for the journey to the Horizontal Integration Facility at Launch Complex 37, CCAFS. The rocket will be used for the December launching of the GOES-N weather satellite for NASA and NOAA. The GOES-N is the first in a series of three advanced weather satellites including GOES-O and GOES-P. This satellite will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. It will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric “triggers” of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements.