KSC-06pd0713

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the high bay at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., workers check the bottom of the fairing halves as they close around the GOES-N satellite. The fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. GOES-N is the latest in a series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites for NOAA and NASA providing continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. GOES-N will be launched May 18 on a Boeing Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller