At Astrotech talks with a journalist during a media showing of the GOES-L satellite in the background.

At Astrotech, in Titusville, Fla., GOES-L Program Manager Gerald Dittberner, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) talks with a journalist during a media showing of the GOES-L satellite in the background. The GOES-L is due to be launched May 15 from Launch Pad 36A aboard an Atlas IIA rocket. Once in orbit, the satellite will become GOES-11, joining GOES-8, GOES-9 and GOES-10 in space. The fourth of a new advanced series of geostationary weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), GOES-L is a three-axis inertially stabilized spacecraft that will provide pictures and perform atmospheric sounding at the same time. Once launched, the satellite will undergo checkout and then provide backup capabilities for the existing, aging operational satellites