A
US satellite to monitor global carbon dioxide emissions plummeted into the ocean near Antarctica Tuesday after
failing to reach orbit,
NASA said, calling it a major disappointment for climate science.
The satellite launched successfully from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a Taurus XL rocket at 1:55 a.m. (0951 GMT), NASA said.
A fatal mission error occurred minutes after liftoff when the fairing, a clamshell-like nose cone intended to protect the satellite during its ascent, failed to separate properly.
"The initial indications show that the vehicle did not have enough lift to reach orbit and landed short of Antartica in the ocean," said John Brunschwyler, program director for the Taurus rocket at Orbital Sciences Corporation, the Virginia-based company that built it.
"Our whole team at a very personal level are disappointed, we are very upset with the results," he said, noting that 56 of 57 Taurus rockets have flown without any problems in the past decade. - PNA
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