VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In Building 1610 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the United Launch Alliance direct mate adapter, or DMA, is installed on the NOAA-N Prime's payload attach fitting underneath the spacecraft. The DMA is needed to install the payload canister around the spacecraft for the journey to the launch pad. NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Launch of NOAA-N Prime is scheduled for Feb. 4. Photo credit: NASA/Doug Kolkow, VAFB

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In Building 1610 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the United Launch Alliance direct mate adapter, or DMA, is installed on the NOAA-N Prime's payload attach fitting underneath the spacecraft. The DMA is needed to install the payload canister around the spacecraft for the journey to the launch pad. NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Launch of NOAA-N Prime is scheduled for Feb. 4. Photo credit: NASA/Doug Kolkow, VAFB