In the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California workers keep watch as a crane lifts.

In the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers keep watch as a crane lifts and moves NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, to a transporter (foreground). 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