Monday, February 21, 2011

The Taurus XL rocket carrying NASA's Glory spacecraft is prepped for launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on February 20, 2011.
NASA - Randy Beaudoin / VAFB

LESS THAN TWO DAYS FROM NOW, the Glory spacecraft is set to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a long-awaited mission to see how airborne particles—called aerosols—affect Earth’s climate. Posted here are photos of Glory as it underwent processing at Vandenberg AFB before being mated to its launch vehicle, a Taurus XL rocket, last week.

The Taurus XL rocket carrying NASA's Glory spacecraft is about to be hoisted atop its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on February 14, 2011.
NASA - Randy Beaudoin / VAFB

Godspeed Glory. If the rocket gods want this week to be a successful one for NASA, then the launch of space shuttle Discovery on STS-133 will take place exactly a day after Glory heads into space (assuming Glory launches on schedule this Wednesday). *Crosses fingers.*

NASA's Glory spacecraft is about to be encapsulated by the Taurus XL's payload fairing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on February 2, 2011.
NASA - Randy Beaudoin & Don Kososka / VAFB
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