The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 2/25/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Associated Press The Taurus XL rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Cali., with NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory on-board, sits on the launch pad. The rocket carrying the observatory blasted off early Tuesday morning, from the base, but apparently failed to separate from the launch vehicle and splashed into the ocean.

NASA officials confirmed Monday that a satellite designed in part by CSU researchers to take carbon dioxide measurements in the atmosphere crashed into the ocean after its launch early Tuesday morning because of complications with launch equipment.

In a press conference later Monday, NASA officials said they suspect that the fairing, which encapsulates the Orbiting Carbon Observatory and attaches to the side of the rocket-like launch vehicle, did not open entirely, preventing the satellite's release.

Scott Denning, a CSU atmospheric science professor and one of nine CSU professors on the OCO team, said of the failed mission, "Obviously it's a huge disappointment," explaining that the satellite was completely destroyed.

Alan Buis, a spokesperson for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, said that, while he did not have exact statistics, it "has been a while since a NASA launch has failed," adding that, "launch vehicle failures are rare these days."

OCO, which took NASA engineers, CSU researchers and other industry partners about eight years to develop, was designed to take the measurements of reflected sunlight and turn them into carbon dioxide measurements.

To take the measurements, the satellite used a computer program developed by an international team led by Denis O'Brien, a CSU senior research scientist.

The satellite was engineered to measure sunlight that passes up and down through the atmosphere and analyze certain colors emitted when carbon dioxide absorbs the light. Using the colors, which are in reality shades of gray, the OCO would detect variations in the grays to measure how many molecules of carbon dioxide are present in the atmosphere.

The idea for OCO was based on CloudSat, another NASA satellite designed to measure precipitation in clouds. Graeme Stephens, a CSU professor who led the CloudSat project, contributed to engineering on OCO.

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