Personnel prepare to offload a solid rocket motor from its delivery truck following its arrival at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Personnel prepare to offload a solid rocket motor from its delivery truck following its arrival at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The motor will be attached to the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket slated to launch NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2 spacecraft in July 2014. Space Launch Complex 2, where OCO-2 will be launched, can be seen in the background.

OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.
Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin