[Launch Alert] Launch Aftermath

[Launch Alert]

This morning I remembered to step outside to look for the aftermath from the 2:09 a.m. Taurus XL launch from Vandenberg AFB. I didn't expect to see anything. However, when I stepped outside, at 5:49 a.m., I immediately spotted the sunlit exhaust.

Did any of you see the same thing? If so, please tell me where you were and the direction and elevation of the exhaust from your vantage point.

I have received reports that the actual launch was seen from Palo Alto, Camarillo, and Phoenix.

More news is coming in ablout the launch ....

NASA CREATES GLORY SATELLITE MISHAP INVESTIGATION BOARD 

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Glory mission ended Friday after the spacecraft failed
to reach orbit following its launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California.

NASA has begun the process of creating a Mishap Investigation Board to
evaluate the cause of the failure. Telemetry indicated the fairing, a
protective shell atop the satellite's Taurus XL rocket, did not separate as
expected.

The launch proceeded as planned from its liftoff at 5:09 a.m. EST through
the ignition of the Taurus XL's second stage. However, the fairing failure
occurred during the second stage engine burn. It is likely the spacecraft
fell into the South Pacific, although the exact location is not yet known.

NASA's previous launch attempt of an Earth science spacecraft, the Orbiting
Carbon Observatory onboard a Taurus XL on Feb. 24, 2009, also failed to
reach orbit when the fairing did not separate.

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory Mishap Investigation Board reviewed
launch data and the fairing separation system design, and developed a
corrective action plan. The plan was implemented by Taurus XL manufacturer
Orbital Sciences Corporation. In October 2010, NASA's Flight Planning Board
confirmed the successful closure of the corrective actions.

The Glory Earth-observing satellite was intended to improve our
understanding of how the sun and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols
affect Earth's climate.