On Sunday evening, fans of space travel are in for a double feature. A SpaceX Falcon 9 orbit will carry the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) into orbit. Then the private space company will make its second attempt in two months to land the rocket on a floating platform at sea.

The NOAA DSCOVR satellite will move into orbit between the Earth and Sun to monitor solar winds. It will provide advanced warning of powerful magnetic fields and solar radiation, which can negatively impact power grids, satellites and communication systems on Earth.

The project started as the late night brainstorm of then Vice President Al Gore 17 years ago, though monitoring solar storms was not what he had in mind.

Gore was inspired by the idea of having a camera above the day side of Earth which could stream back pictures. Gore believed that the photos would be inspirational in the way the 1972 “Blue Marble” photo from Apollo 17 Astronauts was.

“It’s been 43 years since anyone has been far enough out in space to take such a photograph. That’s when I began thinking about how we could get others that would be equally inspiring,” Gore told the New York Times.

DSCOVR will also do that and more. According to the NOAA, the satellite will not only image Earth but will do so in 10 spectral bands measuring heat and energy being reflected and emitted from the planet.

As for SpaceX there is little doubt about their ability to put DSCOVR into orbit but re-landing the rocket is a different story. The company’s last attempt to put a land a rocket on January 10 resulted in an explosion after the booster ran out of hydraulic fuel before touchdown.

“Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard. Close, but no cigar this time,” said Musk on Twitter after last month’s attempt. ”

For tomorrow’s attempt SpaceX has increased the amount of hydraulic fluid on the booster by 50%.

“At least it should explode for a different reason,” said Musk.

If and when the company is successful in landing a Falcon 9 rocket it will mark a turning point in space exploration. Currently the United States spends $70 million each, to Russia, to put American astronauts in space. According to NASA’s Advanced Space Transportation Program it costs $10,000 per pound to put cargo, or satellites, in space. “NASA’s goal is to reduce the cost of getting to space to hundreds of dollars per pound within 25 years and tens of dollars per pound within 40 years,” according to the website.

SpaceX, a NASA contractor with plans of its own, shares that goal.

“If one can figure out how to effectively reuse rockets just like airplanes, the cost of access to space will be reduced by as much as a factor of a hundred. A fully reusable vehicle has never been done before. That really is the fundamental breakthrough needed to revolutionize access to space,” said Musk.

The launch is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Base in Florida at 6:10 pm EST on Sunday (February 8). The event will be streamed live on the NASA TV website.