Nasa to launch global warming satellite after initial bid failed

Five years after a Nasa satellite to track carbon dioxide plunged into the ocean after liftoff, the space agency was set to launch a carbon copy this morning — this time on a different rocket.

The $468m (€342m) mission is designed to study the main driver of climate change emitted from smokestacks and tailpipes.

Some of the carbon dioxide is sucked up by trees and oceans, and the rest is lofted into the atmosphere, trapping the sun’s heat and warming the planet.