WASHINGTON — NASA’s Earth science Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite failed to reach orbit after its 4:55 a.m. EST liftoff Tuesday from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Preliminary indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate. The fairing is a clamshell structure that encapsulates the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere.

A Mishap Investigation Board will be immediately convened to determine the cause of the launch failure.

The spacecraft did not reach orbit and likely landed in the Pacific Ocean near Antarctica, said John Brunschwyler, the program manager for the Taurus XL.

Known as OCO, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory was to be the latest mission in NASA’s ongoing study of the Earth’s global carbon cycle. It was the first spacecraft dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the most significant human-produced greenhouse gas and the principal human-produced driver of climate change.

The Ocean Surface Topography Mission has begun for the Jason-2 spacecraft after it reached orbit this morning aboard the thundering power of a Delta II rocket.

NASA Launch Director Omar Baez said the spacecraft is in its proper orbit and in good shape. The satellite will spend at least three years measuring the ocean’s height and conducting other experiments from more than 800 miles above the planet.

The two-stage Delta blasted off from the launch complex at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base at 12:46 a.m., PDT (3:46 a.m., EDT) for its 10 minute ride to orbit.

The spacecraft is to use sophisticated radar to measure the height of the world’s oceans as it circles more than 830 miles overhead.

The craft’s altimeter, which looks like a large satellite dish, is so precise it can measure wave heights within about 1 1/2 inches.

The mission is the follow-up to two previous satellites that started measuring the oceans in 1992, with the launch of Topex/Poseidon. That was followed by Jason-1 in 2001.

With those two instruments, scientists have had a precise measurement of the height of the global ocean every 10 days. Records of global sea level in the past come from averaging tide gauge readings from many locations. But since t

Researchers say the extensive data collected by the three satellites will show how Earth’s climate has changed over the years.

OSTM/Jason-2 is an international mission sponsored by several agencies including NASA. The spacecraft was built in France and Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., was in charge of the final processing and preparations for launch.

For more information on OSTM/Jason 2, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ostm.

SOAR Magazine’s Marc S. Posner contributed to this report.

Preparations continue at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., for a Friday morning launch of NASA’s Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2. The mission will measure the rising global sea level.

The 9-minute launch window opens at 3:46 a.m., EDT.

The Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 is a satellite that will help scientists better monitor and understand rises in global sea level, study the world’s ocean circulation and its links to Earth’s climate.

The upcoming launch of two upcoming missions have been pushed back, NASA announced this week.

The Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope is now targeted for no earlier than June 11 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. The launch window for GLAST extends from 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. EDT and remains unchanged through Aug. 7.

The additional time is necessary to allow for replacement of the rocket’s Flight Termination System battery which displayed indications of a problem Wednesday.

Loading of the hypergolic propellants into the Delta II second stage is planned for this weekend. On launch day, June 11, the mobile service tower will be retracted from around the rocket at 2 a.m. The terminal countdown sequence will begin at 9:15 a.m. by loading the first stage with RP-1 fuel, a highly refined kerosene. This will be followed at 10:15 a.m. by cryogenic fueling, loading the first stage with liquid oxygen. This will lead to a liftoff targeted for 11:45 a.m. EDT.

Meanwhile, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2 has also been delayed.

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, the OSTM/Jason 2 spacecraft is ready for transportation to Space Launch Complex 2 for mating with the Delta II rocket. An initial attempt was planned for Monday, June 2, but was postponed due to high wind. These windy conditions have continued throughout the week and have precluded shipping of the encapsulated spacecraft to the launch pad and hoisting of the spacecraft into the mobile service tower.

Technicians hope the wind will begin to diminish sometime over the weekend. Launch has been retargeted for no earlier than June 19.

OSTM/Jason 2 is a satellite that will help scientists better monitor and understand rises in global sea level, study the world’s ocean circulation and its links to Earth’s climate.

WASHINGTON - The human face of the exploration of Earth’s polar regions is coming to science centers and museums across the United States. NASA and the National Science Foundation are sponsoring the Polar-Palooza “Stories from a Changing Planet” tour beginning Oct. 19 in San Diego. The tour will stop in cities across the country in 2007 and 2008.

NASA and the National Science Foundation are funding Polar-Palooza and other education and outreach activities as part of the International Polar Year, which began last March and ends in March 2009. The International Polar Year focuses science and education on Earth’s remote polar regions.

The Polar-Palooza national tour features tales of science and adventure from polar glaciologists, geologists, climate scientists, oceanographers, biologists and residents of the Arctic. Each tour stop includes multimedia shows with high-definition video, school programs, teacher workshops and briefings for media and business leaders.

Upcoming tour dates include: - Oct. 19-21: San Diego area - Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Birch Aquarium, San Diego Museum of Natural History and other locations - Oct. 26-28: San Francisco area - Chabot Space and Science Center, Oakland, and the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley - Oct. 22-24: Albuquerque - New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science - Nov. 8-10: Tampa, Fla. - Museum of Science and Industry - Nov. 11-13: Atlanta - Fernbank Science Center - Nov. 15-17: Baton Rouge - Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science

Polar-Palooza is produced by Passport to Knowledge, Morristown, N.J., as an integral part of the International Polar Year outreach efforts. The “Stories from a Changing Planet” tour will continue in 2008 with events planned in Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Philadelphia, New York, Houston and several other cities. For more information about Polar-Palooza and links to the 2007 tour schedule, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/IPY/snow/PolarPalooza.html