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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 …

Burning and Suppression of Solids (BASS)-II Operations: Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Wiseman conducted flame tests using cotton fiberglass fabric samples and a four centimeter acrylic spherical section for the BASS-II investigation. The investigation examines the burning and extinction characteristics of a wide variety of fuel samples in microgravity. The experiment will guide strategies for materials flammability …

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 …

Burning and Suppression of Solids (BASS)-II Operations: FE-5 Wiseman completed four rods in five flame tests for the BASS-II investigation. The BASS-II investigation examines the burning and extinction characteristics of a wide variety of fuel samples in microgravity. The BASS-II experiment will guide strategies for materials flammability screening for use in spacecraft as well as …

Small Fine Arm Attachment Mechanism (SAM) Installation: Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Gerst opened the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock (JEMAL) and extended the slide table. Then with assistance from Commander (CDR) Swanson, Gerst installed the SAM on the slide table and attached the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) to the SAM. The slide table was then retracted …

Skin-B Sample Collection: Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Gerst conducted his second Skin-B data collection using the Tewameter probe to measure the skin barrier function; the Visioscan Camera to measure skin surface topography; and the Corneometer probe to measure skin hydration. The Skin-B experiment will improve understanding of skin aging, which is slow on Earth but very …