[Launch Alert] Launch Unsuccessful

[kd6nrp at earthlink.net]

The following is a Jet Propulsion Laboratory news release regarding this morning's launch:

NASA's Launch of Carbon-Seeking Satellite is Unsuccessful

PASADENA -- 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.

For more information, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov