KSC-2009-6902

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, preparations are under way to move the Centaur upper stage for the Atlas V rocket scheduled to launch NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, to Pad 41. SDO is the first space weather research network mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information about changes in the sun's magnetic field and insight into how they affect Earth. Liftoff on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V is scheduled for 10:53 a.m. EST on Feb. 3, 2010. For information on SDO, visit http://www.nasa.gov/sdo. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller