The Quest for an OCO (Orbiting Carbon Observatory) Re-Flight

The objective of the OCO (Orbiting Carbon Observatory) mission was to make the first space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide with the accuracy needed to quantify sources and sinks of this important greenhouse gas. Unfortunately, the observatory was lost as a result of a launch vehicle failure on 24 February 2009. The JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) was directed to assess the options for the re-flight of the OCO instrument and recovery of the carbon-related measurement, and to understand and quantitatively assess the cost, schedule, and technical and programmatic risks of the identified options. The two most likely solutions were (1) a shared platform with the TIRS (Thermal Infrared Sensor) instrument and (2) a dedicated OSC (Orbital Sciences Corporation) LEOStar-2 spacecraft bus similar to that utilized for the original OCO mission. A joint OCO-TIRS mission study was commissioned and two specific options were examined. However, each presented technical challenges that would drive cost. It was determined that the best option was to rebuild the OCO observatory to the extent possible including another LEOStar-2 spacecraft bus. This lowest risk approach leverages the original OCO design and provides the shortest path to launch, which is targeted for no later than the February 2013 timeframe.