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The Orbiting Carbon Observatory: NASA's First Dedicated Carbon Dioxide MissionThe Orbiting Carbon Observatory is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in January 2009. This Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) mission carries and points a single instrument that incorporates 3 high-resolution grating spectrometers designed to measure the absorption of reflected sunlight by near-infrared carbon dioxide (CO2) and molecular oxygen bands. These spectra will be analyzed to retrieve estimates of the column-averaged CO2 dry air mole fraction, X(sub CO2). Pre-flight qualification and calibration tests completed in early 2008 indicate that the instrument will provide high quality X(sub CO2) data. The instrument was integrated into the spacecraft, and the completed Observatory was qualified and tested during the spring and summer of 2008, in preparation for delivery to the launch site in the fall of this year. The Observatory will initially be launched into a 635 km altitude, near-polar orbit. The on-board propulsion system will then raise the orbit to 705 km and insert OCO into the Earth Observing System Afternoon Constellation (A-Train). The first routine science observations are expected about 45 days after launch. Calibrated spectral radiances will be archived starting about 6 months later. An exploratory X(sub CO2) product will be validated and then archived starting about 3 months after that.
Document ID
20150008640
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Crisp, D.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
May 20, 2015
Publication Date
September 15, 2008
Subject Category
Instrumentation And Photography
Meeting Information
Meeting: SPIE Europe Remote Sensing Symposium
Location: Cardiff, Wales
Country: United Kingdom
Start Date: September 15, 2008
End Date: September 18, 2008
Sponsors: International Society for Optical Engineering
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Carbon Cycle
Climate
Earth System Science Pathfinder

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