OCO launch fails
Updated: Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 1:56 PM ET (1856 GMT)
Originally Posted: Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 5:49 AM ET (1049 GMT)
The launch of a satellite designed to monitor carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere apparently failed early Tuesday when the rocket's payload fairing failed to separate properly. The Taurus XL lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 4:55 am EST (0955 GMT) after a brief delay caused by a range safety issue. The launch initially appeared to go normally, but officials declared a "contingency" about 13 minutes after launch. According to NASA officials, the rocket's payload fairing failed to separate during ascent, preventing the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) spacecraft from reaching orbit. OCO came down in the far southern Pacific, near the coast of Antarctica, NASA estimated. OCO, built by Orbital Sciences, was designed to track the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to better understand the role the greenhouse gas plays in the Earth's climate.
Originally Posted: Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 5:49 AM ET (1049 GMT)
The launch of a satellite designed to monitor carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere apparently failed early Tuesday when the rocket's payload fairing failed to separate properly. The Taurus XL lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 4:55 am EST (0955 GMT) after a brief delay caused by a range safety issue. The launch initially appeared to go normally, but officials declared a "contingency" about 13 minutes after launch. According to NASA officials, the rocket's payload fairing failed to separate during ascent, preventing the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) spacecraft from reaching orbit. OCO came down in the far southern Pacific, near the coast of Antarctica, NASA estimated. OCO, built by Orbital Sciences, was designed to track the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to better understand the role the greenhouse gas plays in the Earth's climate.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
NASA announces "Grand Challenge" to identify hazardous asteroids
Posted: Wed, Jun 19 6:20 AM ET (1020 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, June 19
Positive online response to planned space lesson
China Daily — 5:53 am ET (0953 GMT) Asteroid Mining Company Planetary Resources Harnesses Freelancer.com Contest Platform For Global Marketing Campaign
PR Newswire — 5:52 am ET (0952 GMT) Interstellar Space Travel Art Contest Launches
SPACE.com — 5:50 am ET (0950 GMT) Nigeria Plans to Train Astronauts for Space Travel
This Day (Nigeria) — 5:49 am ET (0949 GMT) Rockets Top Submarines: Space Exploration Dollars Dwarf Ocean Spending
Center for American Progress — 5:49 am ET (0949 GMT) |
