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Workers at the top of the tower at Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, watch as the second stage of a Boeing Delta II rocket moves toward the opening through which it will be mated with the first stage. The rocket is targeted for launch on Feb. 6, carrying the <a href="http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/captions/subjects/stardust.htm">Stardust </a> spacecraft into space for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a substance called aerogel, Stardust will capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of the comet, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in a sample return capsule to be jettisoned as Stardust swings by Earth in January 2006