KSC-2009-1931

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES, arrives on a C-17 military cargo aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida from its manufacturing plant in El Segundo, Calif. Developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, the GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch April 28 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle. Once in orbit, GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. GOES-O will be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. After arriving, the satellite was transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett