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The NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) Mission: Objectives, Approach, and StatusThe Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) is a NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) mission that is currently under development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). OCO will make global, space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) with the precision, resolution, and coverage needed to characterize regional-scale sources and sinks of this important greenhouse gas. The observatory consists of a dedicated spacecraft bus that carries a single instrument. The bus employs single-string version of Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) LEOStar-2 architecture. This 3-axis stabilized bus includes a propulsion system for orbit insertion and maintenance, provides power, points the instrument, receives and processes commands from the ground, and records, stores, and downlinks science and engineering data. The OCO instrument incorporates 3 oboresighted, high resolution grating spectrometers that will make coincident measurements of reflected sunlight in near-infrared CO2 and molecular oxygen (O2) bands. The instrument was designed and manufactured by Hamilton Sundstrand (Pomona, CA), and then integrated, flight qualified, and calibrated by JPL. It is scheduled for delivery to OSC (Dulles, VA) for integration with the spacecraft bus in the spring of 2008. OCO will be launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base on a dedicated OSC Taurus XL launch vehicle in December 2008. It will fly in formation with the Earth Observing System Afternoon Constellation, a group of satellites that files in a 98.8 minute, 705 km altitude, sun-synchronous orbit. This orbit provides coverage of the sunlit hemisphere with a 16-day ground track repeat cycle. OCO will fly approx.4 minutes ahead of the EOS Aqua platform, with an ascending nodal crossing time of approx.1:26 PM. The OCO science data will be transmitted to the NASA Ground Network Stations in Alaska and Virginia, and then transferred to the OCO Ground Data System at JPL. There, the CO2 and O2 spectra will be analyzed by the OCO Science Team to provide spatially resolved estimates of the column-averaged CO2 dry air mole fraction, XCO2. These measurements are expected to improve our understanding of the nature and processes that regulate atmospheric CO2 enabling more reliable forecasts of CO2 buildup and its impact on climate change.
Document ID
20090017860
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Livermore, Thomas R.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Crisp, David
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 2008
Subject Category
Space Sciences (General)
Meeting Information
Meeting: IEEE Aerospace Conference
Location: Big Sky, MT
Country: United States
Start Date: March 1, 2008
End Date: March 8, 2008
Sponsors: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
global measurements
atmospheric carbon dioxide
space-based measurements
Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP)

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