Delta II Ready to Fly

The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft payload stands on the launch pad after the service structure was rolled back at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. NASA’s Aquarius, the primary instrument on the SAC-D observatory, will provide unprecedented global maps of ocean surface salinity to better understand the links between ocean circulation, the global cycling of freshwater and climate. Image credit: NASA/ Bill Ingalls June 10, 2011