KSC-2014-1305

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In the NASA Building 836 high bay at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, both sections of the fairing for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, at left, have been removed from their shipping container, in the center aisle. The fairing will protect OCO-2 during launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 in July. OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas. To learn more about OCO-2, visit http:__oco.jpl.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA_Randy Beaudoin