At Vandenberg Air Force Base a crane lifts off the protective shipping cover.

After arrival of the Stage 0 motor for the Taurus XL launch vehicle at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a crane lifts off the protective shipping cover. The motor will be transported to Orbital Sciences' Hangar 1555. The Taurus XL will launch NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, spacecraft targeted for Jan. 15. The OCO is a new Earth-orbiting mission sponsored by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB