Orbiting Carbon Observatory - Launch Data

Launch Data

Source: NASA

• Date: February 24, 2009, 1:55 a.m. PST
• Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Taurus XL
• Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base – Launch Pad SLC 576-E

The OCO launch failed because the Taurus-XL launcher payload fairing failed to separate. A payload fairing is a clamshell-shaped cover that encloses and protects a payload on the pad and during early flight. Fairings are a standard component of expendable launch vehicles, and they are always jettisoned as soon as possible after a rocket has climbed high enough for heating from air friction to no longer risk damaging the payload. On this flight, the fairing should have been jettisoned several seconds after Stage 2 ignition. The extra mass of the fairing was not a significant factor during the flight of the larger lower stages, but it kept the relatively small Stage 3 from adding enough velocity to reach orbit, so the resulting sub-orbital ballistic path took the payload into the ocean near Antarctica, 17 minutes after liftoff.

The Orbital Taurus program manager John Brunschwyler said, "We could not make orbit. ... Initial indications are the vehicle did not have enough to reach orbit and landed just short of Antarctica in the ocean. ... Certainly for the science community, it's a huge disappointment."

On July 17, 2009 NASA released a summary of its Mishap Investigation Board report. In the report the board provided recommendations to prevent any future problems associated with the four hardware components that could have caused the failure.