Last week, team members with United Launch Alliance (ULA) worked to encapsulate NOAA's GOES-R satellite in its payload fairing -- another major step in the countdown to launch!
The payload fairing is a specially designed nose cone that, in addition to creating a more aerodynamic profile, encapsulates the satellite, protecting it during the ascent through Earth's atmosphere. Once in space, the fairing is no longer needed and is ejected. This is when GOES-R will be exposed to space for the first time.