On Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base has been erected atop Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket for a launch.

On Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, has been erected atop Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket for a Feb. 24 launch. 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. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB