At Vandenberg Air Force Base the first and second stages of the Taurus XL rocket are being prepared for mating in Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Building 1555.

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the first and second stages of the Taurus XL rocket are being prepared for mating in Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Building 1555.

The Orbital Sciences Taurus XL rocket, targeted to lift off Feb. 23, 2011, from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 576-E, will take NASA's Glory satellite into low Earth. Glory is scheduled to collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Wiant, VAFB