KSC-99pc18

Loral workers at Astrotech, Titusville, Fla., check out the solar panels of the <a href="http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/captions/subjects/goes-l.htm">GOES-L</a> weather satellite, to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) aboard an Atlas II rocket in late March. The GOES-L is the fourth of a new advanced series of geostationary weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is a three-axis inertially stabilized spacecraft that will provide pictures and perform atmospheric sounding at the same time. Once launched, the satellite, to be designated GOES-11, will undergo checkout and provide backup capabilities for the existing, aging GOES East weather satellite