This artist's concept depicts NASA's Glory spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. Image Credit: NASA
VANDENBERG, Calif. – NASA’s latest Earth-observing satellite, Glory, was lost in a $424 million dollar launch vehicle failure this morning.
The satellite’s Taurus XL carrier rocket from lifted off Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 5:09:45 a.m. EST.
Telemetry indicated the fairing, the protective shell atop the Taurus XL rocket, did not separate as expected about three minutes after launch.
The new Earth-observing satellite was intended to improve our understanding of how the sun and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols affect Earth’s climate.
Project management for Glory is the responsibility of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The launch management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA’s Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., is NASA’s launch service provider for the Taurus XL rocket. Orbital also served as the builder for NASA’s Glory satellite.
