Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - Feb, 2013

[Chris Bergin]

June 22, 2010

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
george.h.diller@nasa.gov

Michael Curie
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
michael.curie@nasa.gov

CONTRACT RELEASE: C10-036

NASA AWARDS LAUNCH SERVICES CONTRACT FOR OCO-2 MISSION

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has selected Orbital Sciences Corp. of
Dulles, Va., to launch the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2)
mission. The spacecraft will fly in February 2013 aboard a Taurus XL
3110 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The total cost of the OCO-2 launch services is approximately $70
million. The estimated cost includes the task-ordered launch service
for a Taurus XL 3110 rocket, plus additional services under other
contracts for payload processing, OCO-2 mission-unique support,
launch vehicle integration, and tracking, data and telemetry support.


OCO-2 is NASA's first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon
dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the leading human-produced greenhouse gas
driving changes in the Earth's climate. OCO-2 will provide the first
complete picture of human and natural carbon dioxide sources and
"sinks," the places where the gas is pulled out of the atmosphere and
stored. It will map the global geographic distribution of these
sources and sinks and study their changes over time. The OCO-2
spacecraft will replace OCO-1, lost during a launch vehicle failure
in 2009.

The OCO-2 project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, Calif. NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space
Center in Florida is responsible for launch vehicle program
management of the Taurus XL 3110 rocket.

For more information about NASA and agency missions, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov 

[Lee Jay]

This one's going to go better, I trust (and hope).  Best of luck to Orbital!

[Ben the Space Brit]

This one's going to go better, I trust (and hope). 

Shh! Don't jinx it! 

[bolun]

NASA Suspends Payments on Launch Contract with Orbital

Thu, 23 June, 2011

WASHINGTON — NASA is suspending payments on a nearly $70 million contract with Orbital Sciences Corp. for launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)-2 environmental satellite aboard a Taurus XL rocket, which failed in its last two missions.

Dulles, Va.-based Orbital remains under contract to build OCO-2, a duplicate of the $200 million carbon-mapping satellite destroyed in a 2009 Taurus XL launch failure blamed on payload-fairing separation error. However, the $68.1 million NASA had budgeted for a February 2013 Taurus XL launch of OCO-2 has been “temporarily put on hold” as the agency evaluates “launch services options for the OCO-2 mission,” according to NASA’s 2011 initial operating plan.

http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110623-nasa-suspends-payments-orbital.html

[sdsds]

NASA Suspends Payments on Launch Contract with Orbital

http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110623-nasa-suspends-payments-orbital.html

Ouch.

“I would go more than recertified, personally,” Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division, told Space News in May. “I would go demonstrated.”

Is there another payload that could be launched by Taurus XL?  What customer would accept the risks (that Freilich apparently won't accept) of riding on a demonstration flight?

[Malderi]

Probably one that gets a substantial discount.

[Antares]

Iridium?

[HMXHMX]

Iridium?

Orbcomm?

[A_M_Swallow]

Possibly a test payload containing recording equipment, cameras and other sensors that permits what the fairing actually does to be seen.

[sdsds]

Does this enable OCO-2?

Thompson also said Orbital has completed a review of the March failure of its smaller Taurus XL rocket, whose fairing malfunctioned for the second consecutive time. In both cases the principal payloads were NASA science satellites whose combined cost is estimated at more than $600 million.

http://www.spacenews.com/launch/110722-taurus-debut-delayed.html

[ugordan]

Enable it in what way?

[Ronsmytheiii]

Enable it in what way?

ORS-1 launch used modified fairing that worked successfully

Thompson also said Orbital has completed a review of the March failure of its smaller Taurus XL rocket, whose fairing malfunctioned for the second consecutive time. In both cases the principal payloads were NASA science satellites whose combined cost is estimated at more than $600 million.

Orbital’s June 29 flight of a Minotaur rocket, a converted ICBM, used a fairing that had been redesigned to account for the two Taurus XL failures. The launch, carrying the U.S. Defense Department’s Operationally Responsive Space-1 satellite into low Earth orbit, was a success

[ugordan]

Wasn't the same fairing previosuly successfully flown on Minotaurs also flown on the first ill-fated Taurus?

In any case, I doubt this "enables" OCO-2. Methinks NASA is still going to go by the old fool me once... saying.

[zaitcev]

According to SFN, OCO-2 was taken off Taurus.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1202/10oco2/

While NASA holds another competition for OCO 2's launch, integration and testing of the satellite will continue, officials said. Orbital Sciences is building the spacecraft in Dulles, Va.

Too bad Falcon-1 is dead.

[William Graham]

According to SFN, OCO-2 was taken off Taurus.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1202/10oco2/

While NASA holds another competition for OCO 2's launch, integration and testing of the satellite will continue, officials said. Orbital Sciences is building the spacecraft in Dulles, Va.

Too bad Falcon-1 is dead.

So, the available candidates:
Atlas V - Too big
Athena I/IIc - Unproven
Delta II
Falcon 1 - Retired, 1e unproven
Falcon 9 - Too big
Minotaur I - Restricted
Pegasus-XL - Too small

Doubt if they can piggy-back it on an Atlas or Falcon launch to SSO, and they'd be paying for a lot of excess capacity if they opt for a dedicated launch. I doubt if F1e could be ready in time even if SpaceX were actively developing it. I'm also not sure if Athena needs to be requalified given that it has been out of service for so long, and now has a different second stage. Pegasus can't carry it, and Minotaur can only be used if NASA can prove that no other rocket is capable of launching it.

ULA do have a few unassembled Delta II rockets in reserve, and OCO has been linked with it in the past. A 7320 would still have plenty of room for secondary payloads, but it does seem the most likely option.