The Delta II rocket with it's NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft payload is seen shortly after the service structure was rolled back on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. NPP is the first NASA satellite mission to address the challenge of acquiring a wide range of land, ocean, and atmospheric measurements for Earth system science while simultaneously preparing to address operational requirements for weather forecasting. NPP is scheduled to launch early Friday morning. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Delta II and NPP at dusk

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Photo credit: © NASA Image Collection / Alamy / Afripics
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