The Orbiting Carbon Observatory launched early today (4:51 a.m. EST) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and failed to reach orbit. Early indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate, and the spacecraft likely landed in the Pacific Ocean near Antarctica.
The satellite was to have taken precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth’s atmosphere, including where it comes from and where it is pulled out of the atmosphere and stored. These observations would have given scientists a much better handle on carbon emissions, with hopes to solve the mystery of “missing” carbon — 30 percent of human-produced carbon dioxide disappears into unknown locations.
Ongoing investigation is underway to fully understand this failure.
