KSC-74PC-0535, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The solar panels of Symphonie-A, a Franco-German communications satellite to be launched by KSC aboard a Delta rocket in December, undergo checkout in Hangar S at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Symphonie-A is to be placed in a synchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the equator in the Atlantic Ocean due south of Monrovia, Liberia. Launch by KSC's Unmanned Launch Operations Directorate is scheduled for no earlier than Dec. 17. Photo credit: NASA