NASA satellite crashes near Antarctica

$280-million mission to study global warming fails

A rocket carrying a NASA satellite designed to study global warming crashed near Antarctica, failing to reach orbit after it was launched this morning, according to officials.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite never reached orbit after it took off about 2 a.m. Pacific Standard Time from Vandenberg Air Force Base, NASA said in a posting on its website.

"The spacecraft did not reach orbit and likely landed in the ocean near Antarctica," said John Brunschwyler, the program manager. An investigation into the cause of the launch failure will be started.

"Preliminary indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate," according to the posting on the NASA website. "The fairing is a clamshell structure that encapsulates the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere."

The 986-pound satellite was supposed to observe carbon emissions from its perch about 400 miles in orbit above the plant. The project, which has been planned for nine years, was supposed to last two years.

"Certainly for the science community it's a huge disappointment," said Brunschwyler, Taurus project manager for Orbital Sciences Corp., which built the rocket and satellite. "It's taken so long to get here."

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, based in La Cañada Flintridge, is part of the carbon-monitoring satellite program.

The observatory would have been NASA's first dedicated to monitoring global carbon dioxide problems. Measurements collected from the $280-million mission were expected to help in the study of greenhouse gases and their impact. Carbon dioxide, which has been increasing in the atmosphere, is the leading greenhouse gas.