By Parker Leavitt | The Arizona Republic
A Gilbert satellite-manufacturing facility is playing a key role in NASA scientists’ move to space as the next frontier in the study of global climate change as rising temperatures melt away Earth’s vast glaciers, elevate sea levels and alter plant and animal patterns.
Orbital Sciences is developing the world’s first satellite dedicated solely to tracking atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent of several greenhouse gases that affect climate change.
The satellite, estimated to cost about $468 million, promises to paint a more detailed picture of the environmental impact of global warming, including how forests and oceans are reacting to higher levels of CO2, scientists say.
