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At Launch Pad 36A on the Cape Canaveral Air Station, technicians prepare to erect the first stage of a Lockheed Martin Atlas II rocket which will be used to launch the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-L (GOES-L). GOES-L is the latest in the current series of advanced geostationary weather satellites in service. Once in orbit, it will become GOES-11 and function as an on-orbit spare to be activated when one of the operational satellites needs to be replaced. Launch is scheduled for Saturday, May 15 at the opening of a launch window which extends from 2:23 to 4:41 a.m. EDT.