Attempts to understand more about the Earth's atmosphere and the effects on it of increasing levels of carbon dioxide suffered a blow on February 24th. A shroud protecting the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO), an American satellite intended to monitor levels of the gas, failed to detach as it was being carried into space. Instead of going into orbit, the Taurus rocket carrying the craft crashed into the sea near Antarctica.rnThe oco, which cost $278m and took eight years to develop, would have been the first American satellite dedicated to the study of atmospheric carbon dioxide. It was supposed to join five others in a formation known as the "A-train". The plan was for OCO's measurements to be synchronised with an analysis of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases by the rest of the fleet. One of these satellites, Aura, does already look at carbon dioxide, but its measurements are confined to the upper atmosphere. The instruments on OCO would have examined the lower atmosphere, and in finer detail.
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