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 CowenCredit: NASA

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Found in: Atom & Cosmos, Climate Change and Earth