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Planetary News: Earth (2009)NASA's Carbon Observatory Fails to Reach OrbitBy Amir AlexanderFebruary 24, 2009
NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) failed to reach orbit last night, ending its short journey at the bottom of the ocean near Antarctica. The spacecraft was designed to track the Earth's complex carbon cycle, and was eagerly awaited by scientists studying the process of climate change. OCO's loss is "a huge disappointment to the science community" said John Brunschweiler of Orbital Sciences, the launch vehicle's manufacturer. The satellite lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force base in California at 1:55am (PST) on board a 4-stage Taurus launch vehicle. According to initial indications, the first three stages ignited and separated normally and the satellite seemed to be on its way to a successful launch. Then, 3 minutes into the flight, the signal was given for the "clam shell" fairing that encloses the satellite to open and separate from the spacecraft. Telemetry received by the ground crew suggests that this did not happen: The fairing remained attached to the satellite, slowing it down and preventing it from reaching its orbital trajectory. Saddled with the fairing's excess weight, OCO plunged back to Earth and into the ocean near the Antarctic coast. NASA is currently assembling a Mishap Investigation Board to determine the causes of launch failure. A board chairman is expected to be named later today. OCO was a vital component of NASA's ongoing effort to better understand the causes of climate change. Once in orbit, it was designed to measure carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, completing a global map of the gas's distribution every 16 days. Carbon dioxide is the chief human-produced greenhouse gas, and its presence in the atmosphere is thought to play an important role in global warming. Significantly, much of the gas emitted into the atmosphere, however, does not remain there but is captured and stored by the Earth's oceans and land-mass. Part of OCO's mission was to locate the "sinks" where this process takes place, and increase scientists' understanding of it. This would enable scientists to better predict future levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and greatly improve current models of climate change. With the loss of OCO, scientists will continue to rely on an existing network of carbon monitoring stations around the world. They will also have the benefit of data from the Japanese carbon observatory "Ibuki" launched a month ago, which was designed as a complementary mission to OCO. Meanwhile, scientists and engineers will work to determine the cost and feasibility of building a replacement OCO satellite. "The loss to science and to citizenry around the world is huge" said Lous Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society. "We always know that a launch can't be taken for granted, and this failure shows that we should not plan with our eggs all in one basket. We hope that NASA can move forward with climate observing satellites and fill the gap that has been created over the past decade, and is now widened with this loss." Did you like this story? Send
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