VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. Inside the service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Boeing workers get ready to mate the second stage (above) to the first stage of a Boeing Delta II rocket. The Delta II will launch the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-N) spacecraft. After launch, NOAA-N will be renamed NOAA-18 and will provide measurements of the Earth's surface and atmosphere that will be entered into NOAAs weather forecasting models and used for other environmental studies. Each day, the satellite will send data to NOAAs Command and Data Acquisition station computers, adding vital information to forecasting models, especially over the oceans, where conventional data is lacking. Launch of NOAA-N is scheduled for May 11, 2005. Image from NASA, originally appeared on this site: science.ksc.nasa.gov/gallery/photos/ Reposted by San Diego Air and Space Museum

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