Photos: NASA prepares weather observation satellite for launch

Here, on April 7 at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., the first half of the payload fairing is moved around the GOES-O satellite. The aerodynamically smooth nose cone will protect the spacecraft during launch.

This version of the weather monitoring equipment developed by NASA will provide almost continuous imaging and sounding, which allows forecasters to better measure changes in atmospheric temperature and moisture distributions, increasing the accuracy of their forecasts and giving a more detailed picture of the subtle changes in minute-by-minute weather conditions.