OCO-2 - Delta II 2nd Stage Offload

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – As the cover of the transportation trailer is lifted in the high bay of the Building 836 hangar on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the second stage for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, comes into view. OCO-2 is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 in July. The rocket's second stage will insert OCO-2 into a polar Earth orbit. 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/Arron Tauman, 30th Space Wing, VAFB