DELTA II LAUNCH SCHEDULED Published June 24, 2014 By 030614 VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Team Vandenberg is scheduled to launch a NASA satellite on a United Launch Alliance rocket from Space Launch Complex-2 here Tuesday, July 1, at 2:56 a.m. PST. The Delta II rocket will carry NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2; the second of NASA's five Earth science missions to launch in 2014. Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander, will be the launch decision authority. "A launch like this takes dedication and teamwork," said Balts. "I am proud of this launch team and our partnership with NASA. Everyone involved has been working tirelessly to ensure this launch is a safe and successful one." OCO-2 is NASA's first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the leading human- produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth's climate. OCO-2 will provide 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 will measure the global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study their changes over time. For questions about the booster please contact Jessica Rye of the United Launch Alliance at 321-693- 6250 or Jessica.F.Rye@ulalaunch.com. For more information about the OCO-2 mission, visit: http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov or call George Diller from NASA at 321-867-2468. For more information about NASA's Earth science activities in 2014, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow