No Glory: NASA Delays Climate Change Satellite Mission

Artists impression of the Glory satellite at work. Credit: NASA

[/caption]

A satellite mission to study climate change on Earth has been delayed due to problems with its solar arrays. The Glory mission was scheduled for a November 22, 2010 launch, but it now has been tentatively pushed back to February 23, 2011. Reportedly, ground testing revealed a problem with a mechanism in one of the two solar panels on the Glory satellite. “The new launch date provides the necessary additional time required to complete preparations for the rocket and the spacecraft,” said a NASA status report issued on Friday. The mission is slated to launch on an Orbital Sciences Taurus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The $424 million Glory mission will gather data to help scientists to better understand the Earth’s energy budget. It will look at the properties of aerosols, including black carbon, in the Earth’s atmosphere and climate system, and enable a greater understanding of the seasonal variability of aerosol properties.

It will also collect data on solar irradiance for the long-term effects on the Earth climate record, helping to help in our understanding whether the temperature increase and climate changes are by-products of natural events or whether the changes are caused by man-made sources is of primary importance.

Remove All Ads on Universe Today

Join our Patreon for as little as $3!

Get the ad-free experience for life

On the last Taurus XL launch in February 2009 — for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, another NASA climate change research satellite — a fairing failed to separate, and the mission failed.

Source: KSC

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/