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NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 Prepares for Launch

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The mobile service tower on Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California rolls away from the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2.

 

Launched on July 2, 2014, OCO-2 was NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth’s climate. OCO-2 has provided a new tool for understanding the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural "sinks" that absorb carbon dioxide and help control its buildup. The observatory measures the global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study their changes over time.

 

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Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Image Number: KSC-2014-3081

Date: June 30, 2014

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Uploaded on July 2, 2025
Taken on June 30, 2014