Revolutionary Climate Satellite Destroyed After Failed Launch

NASA's $273 million Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite crashed into the ocean near Antarctica shortly after launching from California. It appears that the protective nose cone failed to disconnect from the rocket during launch, weighing the rocket down and preventing the spacecraft from reaching orbit. The satellite would have been able to plot carbon emissions far more precisely than current methods, making about 8 million observations every 16 days, compared with 100 during that time under traditional methods. Read more at Washington Post