Delta II at Space Launch Complex 2

A Delta II rocket carrying NASA's Aquarius ocean salt mapping mission is unveiled from behind its service structure at Space Launch Complex 2 at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base just hours before its scheduled 7:20 a.m. PDT launch on June 10. NASA's Aquarius, the primary instrument on the joint U.S./Argentinian Aquarius/Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D observatory, will map the salinity of the ocean surface, information critical to improving our understanding of two major components of Earth's climate system: the water cycle and ocean circulation.

Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls