(05/06/1999) --- At Launch Pad 36A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, an encapsulated GOES-L weather satellite is lifted up the gantry for mating to a Lockheed Martin Atlas II rocket. The fourth of a new advanced series of geostationary weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), GOES-L is a three-axis inertially stabilized spacecraft that will provide pictures and perform atmospheric sounding at the same time. After it is launched, the satellite will undergo checkout and then provide backup capabilities for the existing, aging operational satellites. Once in orbit, the satellite will become GOES-11, joining GOES-8, GOES-9 and GOES-10 in space. The GOES is scheduled for launch later this month