SpaceX cargo flight includes mission to extend study of atmospheric carbon

An Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-3) is on board a supply mission headed for the International Space Station. There it will measure the distribution of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere over the next three years.

Posted 7:07 p.m. May 2, 2019 — Updated 7:07 p.m. May 2, 2019

Tony Rice

, WRAL contributor/NASA ambassador

SpaceX plans the launch of commercial resupply service mission 17 on Friday at 3:11 am. If the off-shore weather is clear, the launch may be visible along the Florida, Georgia and South Carolina coasts as the rocket travels northeast chasing the International Space Station.

Among the 3,344 pounds of cargo in the pressurized section of the capsule is 745 pounds of crew supplies and 1,601 pounds of science investigations in human biology and microbiology. Riding in the up-pressurized section of the capsule will be the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3, or OCO-3.

OCO-3 will be mounted on the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility, a back porch of sorts for scientific equipment aboard the station. There it will measure the distribution of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere over the next three years.

It consists of three high-resolution spectrometers. One measures how much sunlight the oxygen in the atmosphere has absorbed, and the other two measure sunlight absorption by carbon dioxide at two different sets of wavelengths. The ratio of carbon dioxide to oxygen is used to determine the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Outside the ISS is a pretty harsh place to put sensitive instruments. Temperatures vary by about 500 degrees Fahrenheit as the station passes from sunlight to shadow on each orbit. To prevent damage, OCO-3 will live in a cryocooler, a space “refrigerator” of sorts that will keep the detector at a frosty -244 degrees Fahrenheit.

In 2017, data from the OCO program showed the largest annual increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration seen in at least 2,000 years. Scientists suspect intensified El Niño weather patterns, especially in 2015-2016, were responsible, but exactly how has been a subject of ongoing research. OCO-3’s orbit aboard the International Space Station covers latitudes between about London to Patagonia. This will provide a denser data set for tropical regions of South America, Africa and Indonesia, where El Niño related drought helped drive the record spike in global carbon dioxide levels.

Over half of the carbon dioxide produced by humans stays in the atmosphere, the rest is absorbed into the land and oceans. Data from the OCO program will help answer questions about where those CO2 sinks are and what concentration levels.

OCO-3 will compliment the OCO-2 satellite currently in polar orbit since 2014. OCO-2 replaced OCO which was lost in 2009 to a launch failure. A NASA mishap investigation found that the protective fairing failed to open causing the satellite to fail to reach orbit, and it was destroyed as it burned up on reentry.

The multi-year investigation placed blame on faulty materials from an Oregon-based aluminum manufacturer also found to have caused the launch failure of the Glory mission in 2011. The company recently agreed to pay millions in settlements with the government and other customers. “For nearly 20 years, Sapa Profiles and Sapa Extrusions falsified critical tests on the aluminum they sold,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.

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