Launch pad glitch delays liftoff of NASA carbon-hunting satellite

[Buster's Uncle]

Launch pad glitch delays liftoff of NASA carbon-hunting satellite
Reuters
By Irene Klotz  7 hours ago



The NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission is seen sitting on its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Gene Blevins



CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. (Reuters) - The launch of an unmanned Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was called off less than a minute before liftoff on Tuesday when the pad’s water system failed, a live NASA Television broadcast showed.

The rocket, built and flown by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, was due to lift off at 2:56 a.m. PDT (5:56 a.m. EDT, 0956 GMT) from a launch pad that had not been used in nearly three years.

The pad’s water system is needed in case of a fire and to help suppress potentially damaging acoustic vibrations from launch.

The rocket carries NASA’s $465 million Orbiting Carbon Observatory. Built by Orbital Sciences Corp, it is designed to measure where carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas tied to climate change, is moving into and out of the atmosphere.

United Launch Alliance had just 30 seconds to get the rocket off the launch pad to properly position the OCO satellite at the front of a train of polar-orbiting spacecraft that passes over Earth’s equator at the same time every afternoon.

“As we only have a 30-second launch window, launch will not be occurring this morning,” said NASA launch commentator George Diller.

The launch was tentatively rescheduled for Wednesday, but engineers first have to track down the cause of the water system problem, he added.

(Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)


http://news.yahoo.com/launch-pad-glitch-delays-liftoff-133431283.html

[Geo]

Everything seems to go wrong to put a satellite of this kind in orbit.

[Buster's Uncle]

NASA to try carbon satellite launch on Wednesday
AFP
4 hours ago



The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite onboard, on June 30, 2014 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (AFP Photo/Bill Ingalls)



Washington (AFP) - The US space agency will try again on Wednesday to launch a satellite designed to track carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas that is responsible for global warming.

The first bid to send the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 to space was aborted at the last minute on Tuesday, after engineers discovered a problem with water flow to the launch pad.

The next attempt is now set for Wednesday at 2:56 am Pacific time (0956 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

NASA's two previous bids to send a carbon-tracking spacecraft into orbit failed due to rocket malfunctions in 2009 and 2011.

This time, NASA switched to a different type of rocket, the Delta 2, but an issue with the water suppression system to the launch pad caused engineers to halt the process at 46 seconds before liftoff early Tuesday.

"Pending the outcome of troubleshooting, the launch is rescheduled for Wednesday," NASA announced on its website.

The launch window is quite short, just 30 seconds.

The timing has to be precise so that the satellite could join the A-Train, a constellation of five other international Earth-observing satellites.


http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-try-carbon-satellite-launch-wednesday-163614217.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Pad Problem Aborts Launch of NASA Carbon Dioxide-Measuring Satellite
SPACE.com
by Miriam Kramer, Staff Writer  9 hours ago



The Delta 2 rocket carrying the OCO-2 spacecraft stands upon a launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California before its launch attempt was aborted on July 1, 2014.



A rocket that was set to loft an Earth-gazing satellite to space did not get off its launch pad in California today (July 1) due to a problem with the pad's water system.

The problem arose less than a minute before the liftoff was expected. Because the launch window was only 30 seconds, mission controllers did not have time to analyze the issue and get the United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) spacecraft back on track for launch this morning.

"It's a bit of a disappointment for the launch team when you have a great countdown up to that point," Tim Dunn, NASA launch controller said during the NASA TV broadcast. "However, these are things that we prepare for. We're a professional team. We know how to handle this."

Mission controllers won't know exactly what happened with the water system until they are able to safely get out to the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California later today, Dunn added. It's still possible that the team will be able to attempt the launch again as early as Wednesday (July 2).

The water flow system on the launch pad that appears to have malfunctioned, causing the scrub, protects the launch mount from the high temperatures produced as the rocket fires, Dunn said. It also provides some suppression from the shock wave created during ignition, he added.

The $465 million OCO-2 mission is designed to be NASA's first satellite devoted to monitoring Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide. Once in space, the craft will take measurements of the planet's carbon dioxide 24 times each second. The frequent measurements will help scientists on the ground see where the heat-trapping gas is being produced and even trapped.

The OCO-2 mission marks NASA's second attempt to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide from space. The original OCO satellite fell into the Pacific Ocean shortly after its failed launch atop an Orbital Sciences Taurus XL rocket in 2009. The nose cone of the rocket didn't open properly, causing the crash.

Visit Space.com's partner Spaceflight Now for an up-to-the-minute account of today's scrub via the website's Mission Status Center.


http://news.yahoo.com/pad-problem-aborts-launch-nasa-carbon-dioxide-measuring-114758008.html