PDS logoPlanetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Click here to return to the Photojournal Home Page Click here to view a list of Photojournal Image Galleries Photojournal_inner_header
Latest Images  |  Spacecraft & Technology  |  Animations  |  Space Images App  |  Feedback  |  Photojournal Search  

PIA11233: Artist's Concept of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory
This image is an artist's concept of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO).
 Mission:  Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) 
 Spacecraft:  Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)
 Product Size:  1434 x 830 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  JPL 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA11233.tif (3.578 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA11233.jpg (249.4 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

This image is an artist's concept of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO).

On February 24, 2009, NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite failed to reach orbit after its 1:55 a.m. PST liftoff Tuesday from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.

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

A Mishap Investigation Board will be immediately convened to determine the cause of the launch failure.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL

Image Addition Date:
2008-10-09