[Satellite Today 03-05-09] Boeing has shipped the second of three next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) from its satellite manufacturing facility in El Segundo, Calif., to NASA, Boeing announced Mar. 4.
    The satellite, designated GOES-O, will undergo final preparations for launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 vehicle, scheduled for the spring, at NASA’s Cape Canaveral, Fla.
    GOES-O, a modified three-axis Boeing 601 spacecraft, will join GOES-13, formerly called GOES-N, which was launched into orbit in May 2006. When operational, these satellites will assist the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in providing locations of severe storms and other weather phenomena impacting the United States.