Two Boeing Delta IV first stages head to the Horizontal Integration Facility at Launch Complex 37 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Two Boeing Delta IV first stages head to the Horizontal Integration Facility (upper right) at Launch Complex 37, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rockets were shipped by barge from Decatur, Ala., to Port Canaveral and offloaded onto Elevating Platform Transporters. A Boeing Delta IV will be used for the December launching of the GOES-N weather satellite for NASA and NOAA. The GOES-N is the first in a series of three advanced weather satellites including GOES-O and GOES-P. This satellite will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. It will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric “triggers” of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements.