NOAA’s GOES-S Spacecraft Prepares for Encapsulation

NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite is prepared for encapsulation in its payload fairing inside Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida.
NOAA’s GOES-S weather satellite is prepared for encapsulation in its payload fairing inside Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Technicians and engineers prepare NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S, or GOES-S, for encapsulation in its payload fairing inside a clean room at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. After encapsulation, the weather satellite will be moved to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series – consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft – will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation’s economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.