KSC-05PD-2013

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Another Solid Rocket Booster arrives on NASA Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It will be lifted up the mobile service tower, or gantry, where it will be attached to the Boeing Delta II rocket. The Delta is the launch vehicle for the CALIPSO_CloudSat spacecraft. CALIPSO stands for Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation. CALIPSO and CloudSat are highly complementary satellites and together will provide never-before-seen 3-D perspectives of how clouds and aerosols form, evolve, and affect weather and climate. CALIPSO and CloudSat will fly in formation with three other satellites in the A-train constellation to enhance understanding of our climate system. Launch of CALIPSO_CloudSat aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for 3:01 a.m. Sept. 29.