Vandenberg Air Force Base, California:
NASA television is reporting that a rocket that blasted off carrying an Earth-observation satellite doesn't have the velocity to reach orbit.
Officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California say the Taurus XL rocket carrying NASA's Glory satellite lifted off about 2.10 am on Friday from the base.
But NASA launch commentator George Dillar said 15 minutes later that a payload faring didn't separate from the Glory spacecraft and consequently it doesn't have the velocity to reach orbit.
The status of the flight wasn't immediately clear.
Glory was launched on a three-year mission to analyze how airborne particles affect Earth's climate.
Besides monitoring particles in the atmosphere, it will also track solar radiation to determine the sun's effect on climate change.
The 424 million dollar mission is managed by the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland.
This failure comes just a week after the successful launch of Discovery shuttle's final voyage into space on 25th February.
Officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California say the Taurus XL rocket carrying NASA's Glory satellite lifted off about 2.10 am on Friday from the base.
But NASA launch commentator George Dillar said 15 minutes later that a payload faring didn't separate from the Glory spacecraft and consequently it doesn't have the velocity to reach orbit.
The status of the flight wasn't immediately clear.
Glory was launched on a three-year mission to analyze how airborne particles affect Earth's climate.
Besides monitoring particles in the atmosphere, it will also track solar radiation to determine the sun's effect on climate change.
The 424 million dollar mission is managed by the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland.
This failure comes just a week after the successful launch of Discovery shuttle's final voyage into space on 25th February.
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