In the high bay at Astrotech Space Operations workers help guide the first half of the fairing.

In the high bay at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., workers help guide the first half of the fairing toward the GOES-N spacecraft. The fairing will be used to encapsulate, or enclose, the GOES-N satellite for launch. The fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. GOES-N is the latest in a series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites for NOAA and NASA providing continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. GOES-N will be launched May 18 on a Boeing Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller