The Delta II payload fairing will enfold NASA's Infrared Survey Explorer in the White Room at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The Delta II payload fairing will soon enfold NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, in the White Room at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The fairing protects the spacecraft from aerodynamic forces during launch. WISE will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects which will be catalogued and provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. Launch is scheduled for Dec. 9. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/wise. Photo credit: NASA/VAFB