The GOES-N spacecraft is secured to a transporter for its transfer back to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville Fla.

On Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the GOES-N spacecraft is secured to a transporter for its transfer back to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., after being demated from the Boeing Delta IV launch vehicle. Launch of the satellite was scrubbed in August 2005 due to technical issues and postponed to a later date. Due to the extended length of time the spacecraft has been atop the rocket without launching, the weather satellite is being returned to the Astrotech payload processing facility for some precautionary retesting and state-of-health checks. 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. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton