KSC-2011-7572

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – At Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex-2 in California, the mobile service tower begins to roll back from around a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft aboard. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_NPP. Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett