NASA To Set Up Investigation Boards To Review Failures

This is the second time consecutively that NASA has faced a problem ‎wherein the protective shell separating the satellite failed to operate. ‎The previous Taurus XL launch carried out on Feb. 24, 2009, carrying a ‎different Earth science spacecraft, also failed because of a similar fault. The recent launch had taken place after NASA confirmed successful closure of corrective actions developed by their Mishap Investigation Board.
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Everything was going smoothly as planned from Vandenberg, on the day ‎of launch till the 3:09 a.m. PST liftoff. The cover was to separate within ‎three minutes and the people were expecting to see the satellite enter into orbit. Unfortunately, things did not go that way.‎

The two agencies, NASA ‎and the Orbital Sciences, have now recognized the problem. Scientists have to evaluate the gathered evidence to find out the causes. Sensors ‎deployed on the spacecraft had gathered enough information to discover and make out the underlying causes. ‎

So far, beginning 1994, nine attempts had been made to launch Taurus XL ‎rocket, and succeeded in launching them six times. The cause of the ‎failure would be analyzed before the next launch planned for 2013. NASA ‎and the Orbital Sciences both would be forming separate investigation ‎boards to thoroughly examine the facts available to determine the ‎causes for the failure.
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