Media Accreditation Now Open for Launch of OCO-2 Earth Science Mission

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Apr 04, 2014, 03:26 ET

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Media accreditation now is open for U.S. and international news media interested in covering the launch of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California -- the second of NASA's five Earth science missions to launch in 2014.

OCO-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:56 a.m. PDT July 1 from Space Launch Complex 2 on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. U.S. Air Force policy requires that international media apply for accreditation at least 30 days before the launch.

News media should contact TSgt Vincent Mouzon in writing at 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., 93437; by phone at 805-606-3595; by fax at 805-606-4571; or by email at [email protected].

International media are required to submit full legal name, date of birth, nationality, passport number and media affiliation. Information required for U.S. media includes full legal name, date of birth and media affiliation. A valid legal form of photo identification will be required upon arrival at Vandenberg.

OCO-2 is NASA's first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the most significant human-produced greenhouse gas and the principal human-produced driver of climate change on Earth. OCO-2 will provide a new tool for understanding the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural "sinks" that absorb carbon dioxide and help control its buildup. It will map the global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study their changes over time.

The OCO-2 project is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The agency's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for management of the launch vehicle program for the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket.

For more information about the OCO-2 mission, visit:

http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov

For more information about NASA's Earth science activities in 2014, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow

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SOURCE NASA