This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/7907570.stm
The article has changed 27 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Failure hits Nasa's 'CO2 hunter' | Failure hits Nasa's 'CO2 hunter' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Nasa's first mission to measure carbon dioxide (CO2) from space appears to have failed after a rocket malfunction. | Nasa's first mission to measure carbon dioxide (CO2) from space appears to have failed after a rocket malfunction. |
| Officials said the fairing - the part of the rocket which covers the satellite on top of the launcher - had failed to separate properly. | Officials said the fairing - the part of the rocket which covers the satellite on top of the launcher - had failed to separate properly. |
| If the finding is confirmed, the mission will be lost. | If the finding is confirmed, the mission will be lost. |
| The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) was intended to help pinpoint the key locations on our planet's surface where the gas is being emitted and absorbed. | The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) was intended to help pinpoint the key locations on our planet's surface where the gas is being emitted and absorbed. |
| The $270m mission was launched on a Taurus XL - the smallest ground-launched rocket currently in use by the US space agency. | The $270m mission was launched on a Taurus XL - the smallest ground-launched rocket currently in use by the US space agency. |
| This type of rocket has flown eight times, with two failures including this launch. But this is the first time Nasa has used the Taurus XL. | |
| Onlookers watched the launcher soar into the sky from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 0951 GMT on Tuesday. | Onlookers watched the launcher soar into the sky from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 0951 GMT on Tuesday. |
| Separation problem | |
| The first indication of a problem came in an announcement made by the Nasa launch commentator, George Diller. | The first indication of a problem came in an announcement made by the Nasa launch commentator, George Diller. |
| "This is Taurus launch control. We have declared a launch contingency, meaning that we did not have a successful launch tonight," he said. | "This is Taurus launch control. We have declared a launch contingency, meaning that we did not have a successful launch tonight," he said. |
| "The OCO spacecraft did not achieve orbit successfully in a way that we could have a mission. They're still looking at the telemetry data here very carefully. It appears that we were getting indications that the fairing was having problems separating. | "The OCO spacecraft did not achieve orbit successfully in a way that we could have a mission. They're still looking at the telemetry data here very carefully. It appears that we were getting indications that the fairing was having problems separating. |
| "It either did not separate or did not separate in the way that it should, but at any rate we're still trying to evaluate exactly what the status of the spacecraft is at this point." | "It either did not separate or did not separate in the way that it should, but at any rate we're still trying to evaluate exactly what the status of the spacecraft is at this point." |
| Separation of the fairing was one of the last technical hurdles faced by the satellite as it flew into orbit. | Separation of the fairing was one of the last technical hurdles faced by the satellite as it flew into orbit. |
| Nasa announced that a press briefing to discuss the failure will take place no earlier than 1300 GMT (0800 EST). | Nasa announced that a press briefing to discuss the failure will take place no earlier than 1300 GMT (0800 EST). |
| Scientists had hoped the OCO mission would improve models of the Earth's climate and help researchers determine where the greenhouse gas is coming from and how much is being absorbed by forests and oceans. | Scientists had hoped the OCO mission would improve models of the Earth's climate and help researchers determine where the greenhouse gas is coming from and how much is being absorbed by forests and oceans. |
| The satellite was to have flown in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 705km (438 miles). | The satellite was to have flown in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 705km (438 miles). |
| Nasa's Glory satellite, which is designed to measure carbon soot and other aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere, is due to launch on a Taurus XL from California in June. | |
| The four-stage Taurus XL rocket is manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation, based in Virginia, US. | The four-stage Taurus XL rocket is manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation, based in Virginia, US. |