KSC-97pc634

The GOES-K advanced weather satellite, already encapsulated in the Atlas 1 payload fairing, is carefully placed on the transporter at Astrotech Space Operations LP facility in Titusville. GOES-K will be the third spacecraft to be launched in the advanced series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES). The GOES satellites are owned and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); NASA manages the design, development and launch of the spacecraft. GOES-K is targeted for an <a href="http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/release/1997/63-97.htm">April 24 launch</a> aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas 1 expendable launch vehicle (AC-79) from Launch Complex 36, Pad B, Cape Canaveral Air Station. The launch window opens at 1:50 a.m. and extends to 3:09 a.m. EDT. Once in orbit, GOES-K will become GOES-10, joining GOES-8 and GOES-9 in space