Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) being prepared at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA, for launch. The satellite is at centre, half-enclosed by the faring within which it will be placed on top of a rocket to take it into Earth orbit. The faring protects the satellite during launch. A NASA mission, the OCO was designed to make global measurements of levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, helping to improve studies on global warming and other aspects of climate change. The OCO was launched on a Taurus XL rocket on 24 February 2010 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The faring (seen here) failed to separate properly, and the satellite was lost.