The Centaur upper stage for the Atlas V rocket scheduled to launch NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory begins its lift into the Vertical Integration Facility.

The Centaur upper stage for the Atlas V rocket scheduled to launch NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, begins its lift into the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

SDO is the first space weather research network mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information about changes in the sun's magnetic field and insight into how they affect Earth. Liftoff on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V is scheduled for 10:53 a.m. EST on Feb. 3, 2010. For information on SDO, visit http://www.nasa.gov/sdo. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller