NASA satellite crash subject of 2 probes
Investigations have been launched into why NASA's Glory satellite failed to reach orbit and crashed into the Pacific Ocean on Friday.
The environmental research satellite lifted off aboard a Taurus XL rocket around 2:10 a.m. PT from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
However, it appears the protective shell or fairing over the satellite in the nose of the rocket failed to separate as expected, NASA reported. That meant the satellite did not have the velocity it needed to reach orbit around Earth.
"Indications are that the satellite and rocket ... [are] in the southern Pacific Ocean somewhere," NASA launch director Omar Baez said Friday at a news conference.
NASA officials believe it landed near Antarctica, close to where another NASA environmental satellite crashed during a similar mishap in 2009. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory had also been aboard a Taurus XL, and its fairing also failed to separate.
The Taurus XL is manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corp., a Dulles, Va.-based company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange.
On Friday morning, Orbital Sciences Corp. and NASA announced they had launched two separate investigation boards to evaluate the cause of the failure of the $424-million US Glory mission.
Climate study
Glory was supposed to spend three years analyzing how aerosols — tiny, solid particles suspended in the atmosphere — affect Earth's climate. Such particles are released from both natural and man-made sources, including volcanoes, forest fires and the burning of fossil fuels. They may warm or cool the Earth by trapping or reflecting sunlight.
Bob McDonald, the host of CBC's Quirks & Quarks science radio show, said such particles are "a bit of an unknown when it comes to climate science because they can come and go very quickly."
He added that the Glory mission represented the first study of its kind.
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory also had a mission to study the Earth's climate by measuring carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat near the surface of the Earth, in the atmosphere.
"I'm kind of disappointed that these satellites are not making it into space because we need them." McDonald said.
Following the demise of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a NASA investigators spent months testing hardware, interviewing engineers and reviewing data and documents about the launch and developed a corrective action plan. The probe did not find evidence of widespread testing negligence or management shortcomings, but NASA declined to release the full accident report, citing sensitive and proprietary information.
Orbital Sciences Corp. has since implemented the corrective action plan, NASA said in a news release.
A duplicate of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory mission is now scheduled to fly in 2013.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2...et-launch.html
Investigations have been launched into why NASA's Glory satellite failed to reach orbit and crashed into the Pacific Ocean on Friday.
The environmental research satellite lifted off aboard a Taurus XL rocket around 2:10 a.m. PT from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
However, it appears the protective shell or fairing over the satellite in the nose of the rocket failed to separate as expected, NASA reported. That meant the satellite did not have the velocity it needed to reach orbit around Earth.
"Indications are that the satellite and rocket ... [are] in the southern Pacific Ocean somewhere," NASA launch director Omar Baez said Friday at a news conference.
NASA officials believe it landed near Antarctica, close to where another NASA environmental satellite crashed during a similar mishap in 2009. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory had also been aboard a Taurus XL, and its fairing also failed to separate.
The Taurus XL is manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corp., a Dulles, Va.-based company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange.
On Friday morning, Orbital Sciences Corp. and NASA announced they had launched two separate investigation boards to evaluate the cause of the failure of the $424-million US Glory mission.
Climate study
Glory was supposed to spend three years analyzing how aerosols — tiny, solid particles suspended in the atmosphere — affect Earth's climate. Such particles are released from both natural and man-made sources, including volcanoes, forest fires and the burning of fossil fuels. They may warm or cool the Earth by trapping or reflecting sunlight.
Bob McDonald, the host of CBC's Quirks & Quarks science radio show, said such particles are "a bit of an unknown when it comes to climate science because they can come and go very quickly."
He added that the Glory mission represented the first study of its kind.
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory also had a mission to study the Earth's climate by measuring carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat near the surface of the Earth, in the atmosphere.
"I'm kind of disappointed that these satellites are not making it into space because we need them." McDonald said.
Following the demise of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a NASA investigators spent months testing hardware, interviewing engineers and reviewing data and documents about the launch and developed a corrective action plan. The probe did not find evidence of widespread testing negligence or management shortcomings, but NASA declined to release the full accident report, citing sensitive and proprietary information.
Orbital Sciences Corp. has since implemented the corrective action plan, NASA said in a news release.
A duplicate of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory mission is now scheduled to fly in 2013.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2...et-launch.html
Comment