Orbiting Carbon Observatory

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Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)
Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)
Type: Research satellite
Country: United StatesUnited States United States
Operator: National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA NASA
COSPAR-ID : -
Mission dates
Dimensions: 530 kg
Begin: February 24, 2009, 9:55 UTC
Starting place: Vandenberg AFB LC-576
Launcher: Taurus-3110
Status: burned up on February 24, 2009
Orbit data
The Taurus-3110 with OCO before take-off
This is what the Orbiting Carbon Observatory would have looked like in unreached orbit

Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) was the name of a NASA research satellite from the Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) program to collect data on the Earth's carbon dioxide levels .

The $ 273 million (equivalent to 213 million euros) and 530 kg heavy satellite was launched on February 24, 2009 with a Taurus-XL rocket at 9:55 a.m. UTC from Vandenberg Air Force Base, launch site 576-E in the US The state of California was launched and was to be placed in a 700 km high orbit, which was not reached due to an error when detaching the payload fairing shortly after the ignition of the third drive stage. Because of the additional weight, the thrust of the other stages was insufficient to achieve the necessary speed, so that the rocket with the payload re-entered the atmosphere near Antarctica and crashed into the sea. The US space agency NASA spoke of a "serious disappointment for science".

construction

For the measurements, OCO had a high-resolution three - channel spectrometer , which was supposed to measure the absorption of carbon dioxide and molecular oxygen in the infrared range of the sunlight reflected by the earth's atmosphere. Twelve measurements per second with a resolution of three square kilometers should be made on the ground. For the three-axis stabilized attitude control , the satellite had u. a. via a star sensor and four reaction wheels . To track control were a GPS receiver and four hydrazine -Triebwerke installed. Two S-band antennas for receiving commands and an X-band antenna for transmitting telemetry and measurement data to earth should be used for communication with the ground.

Structure of the OCO satellite

OCO 2

In February 2013 NASA planned to launch an identical replica of the crashed OCO under the name OCO 2 with the same version of the Taurus rocket as the first copy. After the false start of the Glory satellite with the next Taurus 3110 because the payload fairing could not be thrown off again, NASA canceled the launch contract. The planned start date was postponed to July 2, 2014 due to the new tendering.

See also

Web links

Commons : Orbiting Carbon Observatory  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/launchlog.html
  2. ↑ Satellite launch failed . In: Schwäbische Zeitung from February 25, 2009
  3. ^ Spaceflight Now: NASA environmental satellite lost in launch failure
  4. ↑ Satellite falls into the water . In: Südkurier from February 25, 2009
  5. ↑ Spaceflight Now: NASA gives Taurus another chance to launch OCO craft
  6. ↑ Stephen Clark: Carbon-sniffing satellite faces one-year delay. Spaceflight Now, February 10, 2012, accessed February 12, 2012 .
  7. ^ William Graham: ULA Delta II successfully lofts OCO-2 to orbit. nasaspaceflight.com, July 2, 2014, accessed December 16, 2015 .