Satellite To Provide Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Data

Orbital Sciences Corporation announced this week it has shipped the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite to its launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California.

On Saturday, November 8, the OCO satellite departed from the company’s Dulles, VA facilities in a specialized shipping container after completing its design, development, manufacturing and testing process. The spacecraft is due to arrive at VAFB on Tuesday, November 11 for integration and full system testing with Orbital's Taurus rocket that will launch the OCO satellite into low-Earth orbit (LEO) in early 2009.

Orbital built the OCO satellite for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The OCO project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California under the direction of the project's Principal Investigator Dr. David Crisp.

"The cross-country shipment of the OCO satellite from Virginia to California is the first leg of its journey into space, where it will collect and provide vital data to scientists studying the Earth's carbon cycle, a key element in understanding global climate change," said William Barnhart, Orbital's OCO satellite Program Manager. "The manufacturing and testing process of the OCO satellite was completed without any major technical hurdles or schedule delays. We are on track to carry out the launch of OCO aboard our Taurus rocket in the early weeks of 2009."

After its launch into orbit, the OCO satellite will collect and disseminate precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere to scientists studying global climate change. Dr. Crisp and his scientific team will analyze OCO data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important greenhouse gas.

Orbital says this improved understanding will enable more reliable forecasts of future changes in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and the effect that these changes may have on the Earth's climate.

FMI: www.orbital.com