The rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corporation to launch NASA’s Glory satellite worked for three minutes this morning. Then it crashed into the Southern Pacific Ocean. This is the same corporation responsible for the demise of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) in 2009. It’s the same rocket. It’s the same problem with the same rocket.
In the wake of the OCO launch failure, Orbital Sciences Corporation was awarded the contract to launch OCO 2 this summer. Using the same rocket.
Despite this morning’s tragic failure we may yet hope that Raytheon is awarded another contract to build another Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor in the next corporate bidding process – a hope surely shared by its shareholders. But perhaps Orbital Sciences Corporation should sit this one out.