OBSERVATORY CRASHES AFTER LAUNCH

In the February 25 Issue:

Text Size

Enlarge Image

On February 24 at about 4:55 a.m. EST, NASA’s unmanned Orbiting Climate Observatory crashed soon after launching from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. The mission was meant to orbit Earth and study the planet’s global carbon cycle.

Preliminary indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate. The fairing is a clamshell-like structure that encapsulates the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere. The craft likely fell in the ocean near Antarctica. NASA is now investigating the mishap.

Learn more about the mission and the failed launch.

Another mission aimed at studying climate change, NASA’s Glory satellite, is scheduled to launch on a Taurus rocket in October. — Ron Cowen Credit: NASA

Print
|
Comment
|
|
|
Tweet
|

Found in: Atom & Cosmos, Climate Change and Earth

Share & Save

Comments

Please alert Science News to any inappropriate posts by clicking the REPORT SPAM link within the post. Comments will be reviewed before posting.

Registered readers are invited to post a comment. To encourage fruitful discussion, please keep your comments relevant, brief and courteous. Offensive, irrelevant, nonsensical and commercial posts will not be published. (All links will be removed from comments.)

You must register with Science News to add a comment. To log-in click here. To register as a new user, follow this link.

Reader Favorites:

SN on the Web:

Follow @sciencenewsorg