Intro music.
The latest edition of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite series is scheduled for a
spring liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a Boeing Delta IV rocket.
The spacecraft -- known as GOES-N -- is the first in a new series of weather satellites serving as our
"eyes in the sky." NASA developed the satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
These satellites keep vigil from above, tracking vicious hurricanes approaching the U.S. -- a vital role,
according to GOES Deputy Project Manager Andre Dress.
"If we didn't have GOES, that information wouldn't be there. These people would be blind. The storms would
virtually be upon them before they even knew it."
The current fleet of GOES satellites continually provides observations of 60 percent of the Earth,
including the continental Untied States.
They provide weather monitoring and forecast operations, as well as continuous environmental information
and severe weather warnings.
"Every day in your living room at night when you go home, you're seeing that data that's coming from the
GOES weather satellite coming through your TV.
That information is coming down all the time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."
Though dubbed GOES-N at launch, once in orbit, the new satellite will be designated GOES-13.
After NASA completes the satellite's checkout in space, NOAA will take over its operation -- helping them
maintain their unblinking "eyes in the sky."