A United Launch Alliance Atlas V is standing ready at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, set to blast off Thursday.

On board is the new GOES-S satellite for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The spacecraft is the second in the series of weather satellites that will provide faster and more reliable information and data for tracking wildfires, hurricanes and storm systems threatening the western U.S., Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, Central America and the Pacific Rim reaching to New Zealand.

"The GOES satellites have been providing our weather information for decades. And the GOES is a series of four spacecraft, the next state of the art satellites," said Jeff Coyne, who works for Lockheed Martin's GOES program.

The Atlas V is set to launch at 5:02 p.m. Thursday. The 45th Space Wing says there's an 80 percent chance of favorable weather at that time.

Spectrum News will broadcast the launch live on TV. You can also stream it on the Spectrum TV app or on our website.