NASA Loses Carbon-Measuring Satellite
A satellite that was launched Tuesday morning to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ended up in the ocean instead of in orbit.
NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California shortly before 2 a.m. Pacific time, but something went wrong with the rocket that was supposed to carry it into space.
A preliminary NASA investigation shows that a protective shroud around the satellite failed to break free. As a result, the Orbital Sciences Corporation rocket and the satellite ended up in the ocean near Antarctica.
The satellite was supposed to be a powerful new tool to study carbon dioxide, a key component of global warming. A Japanese satellite with similar abilities is currently in orbit and operating successfully. Even so, the launch failure is a costly disappointment — scientists had been working on this mission for more than eight years.
The four-stage Taurus XL rocket was carrying the satellite destined to travel with five other atmosphere-monitoring satellites currently orbiting the Earth in what is known as the Earth Observing System Afternoon Constellation, or A-Train.
Four minutes into its eight-minute launch window, mission officials say the rocket lifted off and burned for 1 minute and 24 seconds before the second stage of the rocket ignited, which burned out, as planned, 2 minutes and 43 seconds after launch.
Just seconds later, the next stage ignited, which should have carried the $278 million carbon dioxide detector even closer to its orbit. At this time, mission officials say, the clamshell-like protector that shielded the observatory during its launch should have separated from the rocket and fallen away. This didn't happen.
Scientists say early indications are that the failure of the protector to separate from the rocket contributed to the failure of the observatory to reach orbit.
Computer data showed that the signal to release the protective cover was sent to the rocket, but other data, including acceleration, temperature and electrical signals, indicated the cover remained on the rocket, said John Brunschwyler, Taurus program manager for rocket manufacturer Orbital Sciences Corporation, in a NASA news conference Tuesday.
"As a direct result of carrying that extra weight, we could not make orbit," Brunschwyler said.
The Taurus model rocket first flew in 1994, and has carried 13 satellites to orbit. Tuesday's launch was the eighth launch for the rocket system and its second failure. The only other launch failure occurred on Sept. 21, 2001, while carrying a high-resolution Earth-imaging satellite and an ozone studying instrument.
NASA is convening a team to investigate the failure.
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MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.
MICHELLE NORRIS, Host:
And I'm Michelle Norris. A NASA satellite, designed to study global warming, ended up in the ocean today instead of its intended orbit. The loss is a tough blow for science and for the researchers who've been working on the project for almost a decade. NPR's Richard Harris has the story.
RICHARD HARRIS: The Orbiting Carbon Observatory was launched very early this morning from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. For the first few minutes, everything looked fine. The Taurus rocket fired its first stage, then its second stage, without incident. But then came a critical moment - a shroud covering the satellite was supposed to fall away.
JOHN BRUNSCHWYLER: The initial indications is that it did not come off.
HARRIS: That's John Brunschwyler from Orbital Sciences Corporation, the company that made the rocket. Electrical signals did go out to explode bolts that held the shroud, but for whatever reason, the shroud stayed in place. He says that hang-up made the satellite impossibly heavy.
BRUNSCHWYLER: As a direct result of carrying that extra weight, we could not make orbit. And the initial indications are that the vehicle landed just short of Antarctica, in the ocean.
HARRIS: That's a loss to Orbital Sciences Corporation, which has now seen two failures out of eight launches of the company's Taurus rocket. But it's also a loss to science. The satellite was designed to measure carbon dioxide around the world to get a better idea of where the gas comes from, and how the Earth and oceans absorb it. NASA immediately launched an investigation into the accident and the space agency, just as quickly, set out to figure out what to do next. Agency scientist Ken Jucks says one possibility is to try to build another one.
KEN JUCKS: We have some spare detectors and lots of parts, but then we have to assemble it and go through the whole testing procedure. And that does takes time.
HARRIS: Another possibility is to leave this technology behind and push up development of the next generation of carbon dioxide detectors, he says. These shine laser beams down from space to make their measurements. Scientists will certainly rely more heavily on a Japanese carbon dioxide satellite, which was launched last month and is working well. But that satellite doesn't have the exact same mission.
JUCKS: I've known them - some of them - for 15, 20 years. They've put their heart and soul into this instrument and now it's gone, so...
TONY BUSALAKI: It's like being punched in the stomach to see something like this happen.
HARRIS: That's Tony Busalaki at the University Of Maryland.
BUSALAKI: And that's also the nature of this particular game. It's not 100 percent certainty. But when it does happen, it is a major loss.
HARRIS: Busalaki says with expected climate treaties and unanswered science questions about global warming, measuring carbon dioxide from space is a top priority.
BUSALAKI: We clearly need an accepted monitoring strategy on a global basis. And that's what - this was about to give us that, and now we've lost it.
HARRIS: So NASA hopes to move quickly to plug that gap.
Richard Harris, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
