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    Weather Looking Good

    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 …

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    Welcome to the Countdown!

    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 …

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    Launch Viewing Info

    "Is there any way I can see the launch?" It's a common question during every countdown. Try this page for launch viewing suggestions.

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    Delta II Revealed after Tower Rollback

    Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2)

    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.

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    L-1: One Day until Launch

    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 …

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    Launch Readiness Review Gives OCO-2 ‘Go’ for Launch

    Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2)

    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 …

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    Final OCO-2 Launch Preps in Progress

    The payload fairing closes in around OCO-2

    It's been a busy week for the teams preparing the OCO-2 spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket for liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The nearly 1,000-pound observatory has been sealed inside the protective payload fairing atop the Delta II since Saturday, June 21. Fuel was loaded aboard the rocket's second …

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    OCO-2 to Study Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

    Artist's concept of OCO-2 in orbit

    NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)-2 is an Earth satellite mission to study carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. The mission is NASA's first dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide from space. OCO-2 will launch on a Delta II 7320 rocket from …

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    NASA Administrator Congratulates MAVEN Teams

    "This is the result of the effort of a really tight team that's been working really hard," said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden as he congratulated the MAVEN launch teams on Monday's liftoff. "I hope this mission serves as a model for those that come after it."

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