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The Earth Observer: Mar - Apr, 2011

Volume 23, Issue 2

In This Issue

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  • Editor’s Corner Front Cover
  • Feature Articles
  • The Enduring Legacy of the Earth Observing System Part I: Forging An "EOS Community" 4
  • Let It Snow, Let It Snow...Let Us Know! 12
  • NASA Supports UNESCO Kickoff for International Year of Chemistry 16
  • The Evolution of the ESIP Federation 18
  • NASA DEVELOP Students at the Mobile County Health Department Utilize Earth Observations to Address Public Health Issues in the Gulf Coast Region 22
  • Meeting/Workshop Summaries
  • Ocean Surface Topography Science Team Meeting 26
  • 38th ASTER Science Team Meeting Report 31
  • Land Atmospheres Near-real time Capability for EOS (LANCE) User Working Group Meeting Summary 35
  • GRACE Science Team Meeting Summary 39
  • In The News
  • Seeking Feedback and Improvement, NASA's Earth Data System Earns Praise 42
  • JPL Airborne Sensor to Study 'Rivers in the Sky' 44
  • Cleaning the Air Would Limit Short-term Climate Warming 46
  • Regular Features
  • NASA Earth Science in the News 48
  • NASA Science Mission Directorate – Science Education and Public Outreach Update 50
  • Science Calendars 51

Editor's Corner
Steve Platnick, EOS Senior Project Scientist

There is a lot to report since our last issue, and I regret that little of it is good news.

As I expect most of you are already aware, NASA’s Glory spacecraft failed to reach orbit after being launched on an Orbital Sciences Corporation Taurus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on March 4, 2011. About three minutes after the 5:09 AM EST launch, telemetry indicated that the fairing—the protective shell atop the rocket—did not separate as expected and the spacecraft likely fell into the South Pacific. This comes just two years after a similar failure mode occurred for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)—also launched on a Taurus XL. There was an extensive investigation following that February 2009 failure; the fairing underwent a redesign of its separation system and had been cleared for use for the Glory mission. A mishap investigation board has been...

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