My condolence to OCO Team!!!

dear all,

another sad news comes up after the satellitte collison of iridium 33 and cosmos 2251. i was thouroughly following the orbiting carbon observatory mission of Nasa since many days. Everything was going smoothly. i was in school in computer lab watching nasa tv. i didnt have lunch also as i was busy throughout the recess watching the launch. as there were no speakers we were unable to hear the countdown. we all became worried because of the 4mins delay and after that launch took place at obout 3:25:30 pm IST. as the recess was over i had to rush down to class. when i saw the news about the failure in seperation of the satellite and taurus rocket, i was shocked

HERE ARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF TAURUS ROCKET-

Taurus is a four stage, solid fuel launch vehicle built by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is based on the air-launched Pegasus rocket from the same manufacturer. The Taurus rocket is able to carry a payload of around 1,350 kg into a low Earth orbit. First launched in 1994, it has successfully completed six out of a total of eight military and commercial missions.[1] Two launches have ended in failure, including the February 24, 2009 launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory mission.[2]

ITS MISSIONS--

This handout photo released by Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., shows the launch early Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, of a Taurus XL rocket equipped with NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite which apparently failed to separate from the launch vehicle and splashed into the ocean. (AP Photo/ U.S. Air Force, Airman 1st Class Andrew Lee)

List of launches
Flight number
Date
Vehicle type
Payload
Result
1
March 13, 1994
ARPA Taurus
STEP Mission 0 & DARPASAT
Success
2
February 10, 1998
Commercial Taurus, 92" payload fairing and 63" dual payload attach fitting
GFO and ORBCOMM (Satellites 11,12)
Success
3
October 3, 1998
Air Force Taurus Configuration, 63" fairing, Peacekeeper Stage 0
Space Technology Experiment (STEX) for National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
Success
4
December 20, 1999
Model 2110, 63" fairing, Castor 120 Stage 0
KOMPSAT and ACRIMSAT
Success
5
March 12, 2000
Air Force Taurus Configuration, 63" fairing, Peacekeeper Stage 0
Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI)
Success
6
September 21, 2001
Model 2110, 63" fairing Castor 120 Stage 0
Orbview-4/QuickTOMS
Failure
7
May 20, 2004
Model 3210, 92" fairing, Castor 120 Stage 0
ROCSAT-2
Success
8
February 24, 2009
Model 3110, 63" fairing Castor 120 Stage 0
Orbiting Carbon Observatory [4]
Failure

ITS DIMENSIONS--

Height
27.9 m (91.5 ft)
Diameter
2.35 m (7.7 ft)
Mass
73,000 kg (160,000 lb)
Stages
4
Capacity IA
Payload to LEO
1,320 kg (2,910 lb)

CURRENTLY NASA IS STUDYING THE DISASTER AND WILL SUBMIT A REPORT SOON!!