Orbiting Carbon Observatory

Orbiting Carbon Observatory
Artist rendition of the OCO satellite as it would look in orbit
Mission typeClimatology
OperatorNASA
Mission durationLaunch failure
Planned: 2 years
Spacecraft properties
BusLEOStar-2
ManufacturerOrbital Sciences[1]
Launch mass530 kg (1,170 lb)[1]
Payload mass150 kg (330 lb)[1]
DimensionsStowed: 2.3 × 1.4 m (7.5 × 4.6 ft)[1]
Power786 W[1]
Start of mission
Launch date24 February 2009, 09:55:31 (2009-02-24UTC09:55:31) UTC[2]
RocketTaurus-XL 3110
Launch siteVandenberg LC-576E
ContractorOrbital
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeSun-synchronous
 

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) was a NASA satellite mission that was supposed to provide world-wide observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide from space. (CO2). It was lost in a launch failure on February 24, 2009, when the box of the Taurus rocket which was carrying it failed to come off during launch.[3] The added weight of the box it was in prevented the satellite from reaching its intended speed and height.[4] After that it fell back into the atmosphere and crashed[5] into the Indian Ocean near Antarctica.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Parkinson, Claire L.; Ward, Alan; King, Michael D., eds. (2006). "Orbiting Carbon Observatory" (PDF). Earth Science Reference Handbook. NASA. pp. 199–203. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Overview of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) Mishap Investigation Results For Public Release" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 5 November 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ↑ "OC'O Blog". Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  4. ↑ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16657-co2tracking-satellite-crashes-after-liftoff.html CO2 satellite crashes after lift-off
  5. ↑ "National Geographic".
  6. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/24/AR2009022401803.html?hpid=topnews