A satellite launched by NASA to monitor the carbon dioxide emissions encountered some problems on its way to the orbit and crashed into the Indian Ocean near Antarctica.

The incident, which occurred this morning and put an end to the $280-million mission, was described as “extremely disappointing” at the very least by NASA’s associate administrator for science, Ed Weiler.

Unfortunately, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite failed to reach Earth’s orbit after taking off at about 2 a.m. Pacific Standard Time from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The satellite had been built by Dulles-based Orbital Sciences Corp. and was launched on a Taurus XL rocket built by the same company.

The apparent cause of the crash was a protective nose cone (a clamshell structure that encapsulates the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere) that failed to separate from the satellite. The extra weight caused the rocket to fail to reach the orbit and fell back on Earth. However, this is just a preliminary theory. NASA will soon launch an investigation that will most likely take some time to figure out what really happened.

"Preliminary indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate," NASA wrote on its Website.

The 986-pound satellite would have monitored the carbon dioxide emission on earth with a much higher degree of accuracy from its perch about 400 miles in orbit above the planet. It took NASA nine years of preparations for this mission that would have taken two years if the satellite would have reached the orbit.

"Certainly for the science community it's a huge disappointment," said John Brunschwyler, Taurus project manager.

"It's taken so long to get here."