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VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. -- NASA officials tour Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, prior to the launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM, satellite. In the front row, from the left, are NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Anne Castle, assistant secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior, and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana. In the background is the payload fairing containing the LDCM satellite which is mounted atop an Atlas V rocket. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission LDCM is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government. The Landsat Program provides repetitive acquisition of high resolution multispectral data of the Earth's surface on a global basis. The data from the Landsat spacecraft constitute the longest record of the Earth's continental surfaces as seen from space. It is a record unmatched in quality, detail, coverage, and value. Liftoff is planned for Feb. 11, 2013 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. For more information, visit: http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_landsat_main_index.html Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett