In the Astrotech facility workers help guide NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory into place on a transporter.

In the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers help guide NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, into place on a transporter. The spacecraft will be moved to Launch Complex 576-E. An umbilical line is attached. OCO will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists will analyze OCO data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important greenhouse gas. OCO is scheduled to launch Feb. 24 aboard an Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket. Photo credit: NASA/VAFB