Molecular beam experiments on collisions between oxygen molecules were performed at low energy and high angular resolution to permit observation of the "glory" interference effect. A novel technique for aligning the rotational angular momentum of the colliding molecules is exploited. Analysis of total scattering cross section data yields for the O-2-O-2 bond an energy of 1.65 +/- 0.08 kJ.mol(-1) for the most stable configuration (parallel molecules) at a distance of 0.356 +/- 0.007 nm. These results indicate that most of the bonding in the dimer comes from electrostatic (van der Weals) farces but chemical (spin-spin) contributions are not negligible. [S0031-9007(98)08079-X].