Feb 24 2009
From The Space Library
NASA launched its Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) aboard a four-stage Taurus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:55 am (PST). However, approximately 3 minutes later—7 seconds after the ignition of the third stage, the payload fairing—the nose cone protecting the satellite as it rises through the atmosphere—failed to separate, dooming the craft. The satellite fell back to Earth, landing in the ocean near Antarctica. Had the launch succeeded, the Observatory would have joined Japan’s GoSat, in precisely measuring carbon-dioxide levels in the air. GoSat had reached orbit on 23 January. 2
NASA, “NASA’s Launch of Carbon-Seeking Satellite Is Unsuccessful,” news release 09-039, 24 February 2009, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/feb/HQ_09-039_OCO_failure.html (accessed 28 February 2011); Kenneth Chang, “NASA Satellite Fails To Reach Orbit,” New York Times, 25 February 2009.
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