KSC-2014-2994
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A flurry of activity surrounds NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2, as final preparations are made to transport the spacecraft from the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility to Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for launch. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for 5:56 a.m. EDT on July 1. OCO-2 is NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth’s climate. OCO-2 will provide a new tool for understanding the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural "sinks" that absorb carbon dioxide and help control its buildup. The observatory will measure the global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study their changes over time. To learn more about OCO-2, visit http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/30th Space Wing, U.S. Air Force
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Details
NASA ID
KSC-2014-2994
Date Created
June 16, 2014
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Vandenberg AFB, CA
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