A rocket carrying a NASA satellite crashed into the ocean near Antarctica after a failed launch on Tuesday, ending a USD 280 million mission to track global warming from space.

The Taurus XL rocket carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory blasted off just before 2 am local time from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base. But minutes later, a cover protecting the satellite during launch failed to separate from the rocket, a preliminary investigation found. The 447-kg satellite was supposed to be placed into an orbit some 650 km high to track carbon dioxide emissions. The project was nine years in the making, and the mission was supposed to last two years.

Scientists currently depend on 282 land-based stations — and scattered instrumented aircraft flights — to monitor carbon dioxide at low altitudes.

“Certainly for the science community it’s a huge disappointment,” said John Brunschwyler, Taurus project manager for Orbital Sciences Corp, which built the rocket and satellite. The rocket landed in the ocean near Antarctica.

NASA said it will convene a team of experts to investigate the loss of the satellite.