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Here at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California,
NASA is preparing to launch a spacecraft to

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study the Earth's atmosphere and better understand
how climate change affects everyone on the

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planet.

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The Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO-2,
will be NASA's first dedicated Earth remote-sensing

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satellite to collect space-based global measurements
of atmospheric carbon dioxide. It will have

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the precision, resolution and coverage needed
to better understand the environment on a

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global basis.

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The mission to study the atmosphere began
to take shape in an Orbital Sciences Corporation

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facility in Gilbert, Arizona. The company
built, integrated and tested the OCO-2 spacecraft

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under a contract from NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

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After a 560-mile trip from Orbital's facility
in Arizona, the satellite arrived at Vandenberg

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on April 30. It then was transported to the
Astrotech payload processing facility. Inside

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the clean room, technicians and engineers
began uncrating the OCO-2 spacecraft.

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The 985-pound satellite then was placed on
a test fixture to begin weeks of intense prelaunch

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checkouts to ensure all its complex systems
are working properly.

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During December of last year, a convoy of
trucks began delivering the solid rocket motors

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to Vandenberg for the United Launch Alliance
Delta II rocket that will boost the satellite

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to orbit.

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In late March, the Delta's first-stage booster
arrived at NASA hangar 836.

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On March 28, the Delta II first stage booster
was transported to SLC-2 and raised to the

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vertical position and hoisted into the mobile
service tower.

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Two weeks later, the three solid rocket motors
were attached to the first stage of the booster.

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The Delta II second stage then was towed to
the base of the mobile service tower at Space

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Launch Complex-2 on April 15.

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The instruments and systems on OCO-2 were
thoroughly tested at Astrotech's Vandenberg

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facility, including the all-important solar
arrays. While orbiting the Earth, the arrays

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will capture the sun's energy and generate
813 watts of power for the spacecraft's systems.

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With a primary structure consisting of a seven-foot-long
hexagonal column that is three feet wide,

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OCO-2 is about the size of an office desk.

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Once final checks were complete at the Vandenberg
Astrotech facility, the satellite was enclosed

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in its transportation canister and prepared
for the trip to the launch pad to meet up

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with the Delta II vehicle.

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By mid-June, OCO-2 was ready to be placed
atop the Delta rocket to begin final preparations

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for liftoff and its 24-month mission.

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Once in orbit, OCO-2 will study carbon dioxide
levels of the Earth's atmosphere from an orbit