The second stage of a Delta IV rocket awaits checkout in the hangar of the Delta Operations Center in Florida.

The second stage of a Delta IV rocket awaits checkout in the hangar of the Delta Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket is the vehicle slated to launch GOES-P, the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. A meteorological satellite, GOES-P is designed to watch for storm development and observed current weather conditions on Earth. Launch of GOES-P is scheduled for no earlier than Feb. 25, 2010, from Launch Complex 37. For information on GOES-P, visit http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/spacecraft/n_p_spacecraft.html. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder