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NASA Initiates Closeout of OCO-2 and OCO-3 Satellites Under Trump Budget Proposal

Decommissioning plans will begin before October’s fiscal year start, fueling an urgent push for congressional or private funding to avoid a carbon-monitoring gap.

Dave Crisp speaks during an Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 briefing in June 2014.
View of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) on the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility of the International Space Station in June 2019.
Artist's rendering of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)-2, one of five new NASA Earth science missions set to launch in 2014, and one of three managed by JPL.
A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket launches with the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite onboard in July 2014.

Overview

  • The Trump administration’s FY2026 budget request eliminates operational funding for NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory missions, setting the stage for OCO-2’s deorbit and OCO-3’s shutdown.
  • NASA has moved both satellites into Phase F closeout planning and invited external partners to sustain OCO-3 operations by the August 29 deadline.
  • Experts emphasize that OCO-2 and OCO-3 remain fully functional and that OCO-2’s onboard fuel could support data collection into the 2030s at a low annual cost.
  • Analysts warn that ending the missions would create a multiyear void in high-precision CO2 and photosynthesis measurements crucial for climate research and agricultural forecasting.
  • Researchers and advocacy groups are lobbying lawmakers and exploring public-private partnerships to secure funding and prevent irreversible data loss.