The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is rolled from the Vertical Integration Facility to the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch vehicle will send NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-S) into orbit. The GOES series is designed to 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 lift off atop the Atlas V rocket March 1 at 5:02 p.m. EST.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing are predicting an 80 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff of the Atlas V rocket. On launch day, the primary weather concern is cumulus clouds and strengthening ground winds.
Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky