CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the NASA News Center annex at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, social media participants listen to a briefing by Michael Woltman of Kennedy's Launch Services Program. The social media participants gathered at the Florida spaceport for the launch of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L spacecraft. Their visit included tours of key facilities and participating in presentations by key NASA leaders who updated the space agency's current efforts. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Michael Woltman, senior vehicle systems engineer for NASA's Launch Services Program, addresses agency social media followers on the first day of activities of a NASA Social revolving around NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K mission. NASA Socials are in-person meetings for people who engage with the agency through Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social networks. The satellite, known as TDRS-K, is set to launch at 8:48 p.m. EST on Jan. 30 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. About 50 followers were selected to participate in the TDRS-K prelaunch and launch activities and share them with their own fan base. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and Michael "Mic" Woltman, senior vehicle systems engineer for the Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, discuss the upcoming launch of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2, with representatives of social media outlets attending a NASA Social at Vandenberg. Launch of OCO-2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 is scheduled for 5:56 a.m. EDT on July 1. The social media users selected to attend the two-day event on June 30 and July 1 are given the same access as news media in an effort to align their experience with those of traditional media. 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. To learn more about OCO-2, visit http://www.nasa.gov/oco2. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky