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George Diller, NASA Launch Commentator: From
Vandenberg Air Force Base in

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California, this is Delta Launch Control at
T-minus one hour, 40 minutes, 52 seconds

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and counting.

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That puts us slightly more than two hours
away from the launch of the

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Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 spacecraft,
also called OCO-2.

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This is NASA's first mission dedicated to
studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the

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leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving
changes in Earth's climate.

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OCO-2 will provide a new tool for understanding
the human and natural sources of

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carbon dioxide emissions and the so called
natural sinks that absorb carbon dioxide and

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help control its build up in the atmosphere.

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The observatory will measure the global geographic
distribution of these sources and

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study their changes over time.

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The OCO-2 spacecraft's final circular polar
orbit will be

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438 nautical miles above the Earth at an inclination
of 98.2 degrees.

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It will be circling

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the Earth every 99 minutes.

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OCO-2 will separate from the Delta 2 rocket
56 minutes, 15

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seconds after liftoff.

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At this time, preparations are underway for
loading the Delta 2 rocket with liquid oxygen.

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Countdown activities began on schedule and
have been proceeding normally.

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This will

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be the 152nd Delta 2 launch for United Launch
Alliance and NASA's 51st on a Delta 2.

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NASA's first Delta launch from Vandenberg
Air Force Base was on October 2, 1966 for

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the TAUS-A mission.

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We'll be getting a weather briefing shortly.

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At this time weather is

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still very favorable for a launch overnight.

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And we're not working any issues or concerns

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at this point in the launch countdown.