OCO-2 Launch

Source: United Launch Alliance

It's been a long strange trip for the Orbital Carbon Observatory (OCO-2), but it finally launched yesterday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, providing some early 4th of July fireworks. 

OCO-2 will provide high-resolution global measurements of carbon dioxide to better understand its sources and sinks and to better anticipate its buildup in the atmosphere and influence on climate.  This NASA mission has had a rough road as the original OCO satellite was lost during launch in 2009 when the launch vehicle failed to separate during ascent.  

University of Utah atmospheric scientist John Lin will use data from OCO-2, combined with his Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) model, to help determine the magnitude of carbon emissions from major urban areas.  Click here for more information.