OCO-2's ride into space is the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, a vehicle with a lengthy and reliable history. From Earth-observing missions like Aquarius, CloudSat and CALIPSO, to interplanetary voyages such as the Mars Phoenix lander, and astronomy missions like Kepler and WISE, the Delta II has boosted many of NASA's most well-known missions …
NASA Launch Manager Tim Dunn polled his team and gave the go-ahead to begin loading liquid oxygen into the rocket's first stage a few minutes from now.
Launch Weather Officer Lt. Joseph Round of the 30th Operations Support Squadron just briefed the launch team on this morning's conditions. With nothing significant on the radar and light winds at about 4 knots, there are no violations of weather criteria and there is virtually no chance of weather interfering with liftoff today. The fog …
It's early in the morning at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, but the launch team has been up through the night preparing for today's liftoff of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. Launch is scheduled for the start of a 30-second window that opens at 2:56:44 a.m. PDT …
"Is there any way I can see the launch?" It's a common question during every countdown. Try this page for launch viewing suggestions.
The service tower at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex 2 has been rolled away, leaving the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket and OCO-2 spacecraft ready for the countdown. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:56 a.m. PDT, 5:56 a.m. EDT.
Remember to join us right here at 12:45 a.m. PDT, 3:45 a.m. EDT for live coverage of the OCO-2 launch countdown! In the meantime, we've posted a couple of videos to bring you up to speed on the mission to come — and how the OCO-2 spacecraft and the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket …
Pro-K Sample Collections: Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Wiseman collected urine and blood samples for his Flight Day 30 Pro-K session. Pro-K investigates dietary countermeasures to lessen bone loss of astronauts. It proposes that a flight diet with a decreased ratio of animal protein to potassium will lead to decreased loss of bone mineral. Pro K has …
Managers gave a "go" to proceed toward the launch of OCO-2 at the conclusion of today's Launch Readiness Review. The spacecraft is sealed atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket set to lift off from Space Launch Complex 2 on Tuesday, July 1 at 2:56 a.m. PDT, 5:56 a.m. EDT. Tuesday, July 1, at Vandenberg Air Force …
