NASA'S "Age Of Aquarius" Dawns With Launch From California

Steve Cole

Headquarters, Washington     

 

Alan Buis

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

WASHINGTON -- NASA's 'Age of Aquarius' dawned Friday with the launch of an international satellite carrying the agency-built Aquarius instrument that will measure the saltiness of Earth's oceans to advance our understanding of the global water cycle and improve climate forecasts.

The Aquarius/SAC-D observatory rocketed into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket at 7:20:13 a.m. PDT. Less than 57 minutes later, the observatory separated from the rocket's second stage and began activation procedures, establishing communications with ground controllers and unfurling its solar arrays.

Initial telemetry reports show the observatory is in excellent health. The SAC-D (Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas) observatory is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency, Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE).

"Aquarius is a critical component of our Earth sciences work, and part of the next generation of space-based instruments that will take our knowledge of our home planet to new heights," said NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver. "The innovative scientists and engineers who contributed to this mission are part of the talented team that will help America win the future and make a positive impact across the globe."

Aquarius will make NASA's first space observations of the salinity or concentration of salt at the ocean surface, a key missing variable in satellite studies of Earth. Variations in salinity influence deep ocean circulation, trace the path of freshwater around our planet and help drive Earth's climate.

"Data from this mission will advance our understanding of the ocean and prediction of the global water cycle," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate at agency headquarters in Washington. "This mission demonstrates the power of international collaboration and accurate spaceborne measurements for science and societal benefit. This would not be possible without the sustained cooperation of NASA, CONAE and our other partners."

In addition to Aquarius, the observatory carries seven instruments that will monitor natural hazards and collect a broad range of environmental data. Other mission partners include Brazil, Canada, France and Italy.

"This mission is the most outstanding project in the history of scientific and technological cooperation between Argentina and the United States," said CONAE Executive and Technical Director Conrado Varotto. "Information from the mission will have significant benefits for humankind."

Aquarius will map the global open ocean once every seven days for at least three years with a resolution of 93 miles (150 kilometers). The maps will show how ocean surface salinity changes each month, season and year. Scientists expect to release preliminary salinity maps later this year.

Aquarius will measure salinity by sensing thermal microwave emissions from the water's surface with three microwave instruments called radiometers. When other environmental factors are equal, these emissions indicate the saltiness of surface water. A microwave radar scatterometer instrument will measure ocean waves that affect the precision of the salinity measurement. Because salinity levels in the open ocean vary by only about five parts per thousand, Aquarius will be able to detect changes as small as approximately two parts per 10,000, equivalent to about one-eighth of a teaspoon of salt in a gallon of water.

During the next 25 days, the Aquarius/SAC-D service platform will be tested and maneuvered into its final operational, near-polar orbit 408 miles (657 kilometers) above Earth. Science operations will begin after the observatory's instruments are checked out. This commissioning phase may last up to 65 days.

Aquarius was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. NASA's Launch Services Program, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, managed the launch. JPL will manage Aquarius through its commissioning phase and archive mission data. Goddard will manage Aquarius mission operations and process science data. CONAE is providing the SAC-D spacecraft, optical camera, thermal camera with Canada, microwave radiometer, sensors from various Argentine institutions and the mission operations center. France and Italy also are contributing instruments. For more information about Aquarius/SAC-D, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aquarius and http://www.conae.gov.ar/eng/principal.html.

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Aquarius Lifts Off!

A Delta II rocket launches with the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft payload from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on Friday, June 10, 2011. The joint U.S./Argentinian Aquarius/Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D mission, set to launch June 10, will map the salinity at the ocean surface, information critical to improving our understanding of two major components of Earth's climate system: the water cycle and ocean circulation.

Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Aquarius/SAC-D Soars into Orbit!

Transcript:

NASA Launch Commentator Tracy Young: T minus 10… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… we have ignition and liftoff of Aquarius and the SAC-D observatory on an international mission to study Earth's salty sea.

Ascent Commentator Steve Agid: … a burn nicely from the initial launch transient. Main engine control is good. Vernier control is good. Coming up on 36 seconds.

Mark, 36 seconds. Mach 1, vehicle now going transonic. Forty-two seconds, still looking good.

Good chamber pressure is holding. Forty-nine seconds in, Max Q, maximum dynamic pressure in the vehicle.

Coming up on the one-minute mark as we're standing by for solid burnout.

Chamber pressure beginning to drop in the solids. We have burnout.

We'll be holding on to those solids for about another 30 seconds to assure we have a safe water impact point. Once minute, 13 seconds into the flight.

One minute, 25 seconds, mark. Standing by for separation of the three ground-lit solids. Should be happening any second now.

And we have separation command. Separation, one minute, 45 seconds in, the Delta II vehicle only weighs about half of what it did at launch. It's burning propellants at the rate of about the weight of 800 pounds per second.

NASA's Aquarius/Sac-D Launch Rescheduled

Steve Cole

Headquarters, Washington                                   

 

George Diller

Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

WASHINGTON -- The launch of the international Aquarius/SAC-D mission is postponed 24 hours until Friday, June 10, from NASA's Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The 5-minute launch window opens at 10:20 a.m. EDT (7:20 a.m. PDT).

The new launch date will allow the launch team to complete additional review of an inconsistency found in the Delta II launch vehicle flight profile for wind conditions on the day of launch. These data are used to steer the Delta II through upper level winds. The weather forecast for June 10 shows a 100 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for the launch.

The Aquarius/SAC-D (Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas) observatory is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency, Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE).

Media are invited to see and photograph the Delta II with Aquarius/SAC-D at the launch pad on Thursday, June 9. Media will depart for the pad at 9:30 p.m. PDT from the Vandenberg Main Gate on California State Road 1.

Media covering the launch on Friday, June 10, will be escorted to the press viewing site from the Vandenberg Main Gate. Media should meet at 6 a.m. PDT at the pass and identification building.

Aquarius was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida manages the launch. JPL will manage Aquarius through its commissioning phase and archive mission data. Goddard will manage Aquarius mission operations and process science data. CONAE is providing the SAC-D spacecraft, optical camera, thermal camera with Canada, microwave radiometer, sensors from various Argentine institutions and the mission operations center. France and Italy also are contributing instruments.

On launch day, June 10, NASA TV commentary coverage of the countdown will begin at 8:30 a.m. EDT (5:30 a.m. PDT). Launch coverage will be streamed live at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For more information about Aquarius/SAC-D, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aquarius.

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Tweetup At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Previews 2011 Missions

Stephanie L. Schierholz

Headquarters, Washington                               

 

Veronica McGregor

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

PASADENA, Calif. -- News media representatives are invited to cover a Tweetup hosted by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., on Monday, June 6. More than 100 NASA Twitter followers, who registered in April, will attend the event.

With four NASA/JPL space missions launching in 2011 and an asteroid belt encounter nearly under way, this year will be one of the busiest ever in planetary exploration. Tweetup participants will interact with JPL scientists and engineers about these upcoming missions: Aquarius, to study ocean salinity; Grail, to study the moon's gravity field; Juno to Jupiter; and the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity rover. Tweetup participants also will learn about the Dawn mission and its planned encounter with the asteroid Vesta.

The Tweetup will take place from approximately 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PDT. It will include a tour of JPL, hands-on demonstrations and a last chance to see the Curiosity rover before it ships to Florida for its launch in the fall. Tour stops will include the Spacecraft Assembly Facility, where Curiosity is undergoing assembly and testing, the mission control center of NASA's Deep Space Network, and JPL's new Earth Science Center.

NASA Television will broadcast portions of the Tweetup from 8:15 - 10:30 a.m. PDT and again from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. PDT on June 6 at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv and http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2.

Tweetup participants will mingle with fellow attendees and the staff behind @NASA, @NASAJPL, @MarsRovers, @AsteroidWatch and other NASA social media accounts.

NASA's first Tweetup was held at JPL on Jan. 21, 2009, and NASA Headquarters held its first on July 21, 2009. The most recent event was at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for the space shuttle Endeavour's final launch. Following JPL's June event, the next NASA Tweetup will be July 7-8 at Kennedy for the Space Shuttle Program's final launch. Registration for that Tweetup is open from noon EDT Wednesday, June 1, through noon Thursday, June 2, at

http://www.nasa.gov/tweetup.

ACCREDITATION

News media representatives who would like to cover the June 6 Tweetup must RSVP in advance to JPL Media Relations at 818-354-5011. Non-U.S. citizens also must bring valid passports.

WEB COVERAGE

Follow the conversation before and during the June 6 event on Twitter by using the hashtag #NASATweetup and following the @NASAJPL, @JPLTweetup, and @NASATweetup accounts.

Find all the ways to connect and collaborate with NASA at http://www.nasa.gov/connect.

For more information about Aquarius, Grail, Juno, the Curiosity rover, Dawn and NASA’s other science missions, visit http://science.nasa.gov.

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NASA Mission Will Observe Earth's Salty Seas For Climate Clues

Steve Cole

Headquarters, Washington     

 

Alan Buis

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

WASHINGTON -- Final preparations are under way for the June 9 launch of the international Aquarius/SAC-D observatory. The mission's primary instrument, Aquarius, will study interactions between ocean circulation, the water cycle and climate by measuring ocean surface salinity.

Engineers at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California are performing final tests before mating Aquarius/SAC-D to its Delta II rocket. The mission is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency, Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), with participation from Brazil, Canada, France and Italy. SAC stands for Satelite de Applicaciones Cientificas.

In addition to Aquarius, the observatory carries seven other instruments that will collect environmental data for a wide range of applications, including studies of natural hazards, air quality, land processes and epidemiology.

The mission will make NASA's first space observations of the concentration of dissolved salt at the ocean surface. Aquarius' observations will reveal how salinity variations influence ocean circulation, trace the path of freshwater around our planet, and help drive Earth's climate. The ocean surface constantly exchanges water and heat with Earth's atmosphere. Approximately 80 percent of the global water cycle that moves freshwater from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean happens over the ocean.

Salinity plays a key role in these exchanges. By tracking changes in ocean surface salinity, Aquarius will monitor variations in the water cycle caused by evaporation and precipitation over the ocean, river runoff, the freezing and melting of sea ice. Salinity also makes seawater denser, causing it to sink, where it becomes part of deep, interconnected ocean currents. This deep ocean "conveyor belt" moves water masses and heat from the tropics to the polar regions, helping to regulate Earth's climate.

"Salinity is the glue that bonds two major components of Earth's complex climate system: ocean circulation and the global water cycle," said Aquarius Principal Investigator Gary Lagerloef of Earth & Space Research in Seattle. "Aquarius will map global variations in salinity in unprecedented detail, leading to new discoveries that will improve our ability to predict future climate."

Aquarius will measure salinity by sensing microwave emissions from the water's surface with a radiometer instrument. These emissions can be used to indicate the saltiness of the surface water, after accounting for other environmental factors. Salinity levels in the open ocean vary by only about five parts per thousand, and small changes are important. Aquarius uses advanced technologies to detect changes in salinity as small as about two parts per 10,000, equivalent to a pinch (about one-eighth of a teaspoon) of salt in a gallon of water.

Aquarius will map the entire open ocean every seven days for at least three years from 408 miles (657 kilometers) above Earth. Its measurements will produce monthly estimates of ocean surface salinity with a spatial resolution of 93 miles (150 kilometers). The data will reveal how salinity changes over time and from one part of the ocean to another.

The Aquarius/SAC-D mission continues NASA and CONAE's 17-year partnership. NASA provided launch vehicles and operations for three SAC satellite missions and science instruments for two. Aquarius was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. JPL will manage Aquarius through its commissioning phase and archive mission data. Goddard will manage Aquarius mission operations and process science data. NASA's Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is managing the launch.

CONAE is providing the SAC-D spacecraft, an optical camera, a thermal camera in collaboration with Canada, a microwave radiometer; sensors from various Argentine institutions and the mission operations center there. France and Italy are contributing instruments.

For more information about Aquarius/SAC-D, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aquarius and http://www.conae.gov.ar/eng/principal.html.

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NASA Announces News Briefing On Aquarius/Sac-D Mission

Steve Cole

Headquarters, Washington     

WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a news briefing on Tuesday, May 17, at 1 p.m. EDT, on the agency's next Earth-observing satellite mission, Aquarius/SAC-D, scheduled to launch on June 9. The briefing will be held at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Panelists will discuss the international spacecraft mission, a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency, Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), with participation by Brazil, Canada, France and Italy. CONAE provided the SAC-D spacecraft.

The mission's primary instrument, NASA's Aquarius, will make the agency's first space-based global measurements of the salinity of the ocean surface. Salinity, a key missing variable in satellite observations of Earth, links ocean circulation, the global balance of freshwater and climate. Seven other SAC-D instruments, contributed by Argentina, Canada, France and Italy, will collect environmental data for a wide range of applications, including studies of natural hazards, air quality, land processes, and epidemiology.

The panelists are:

- Eric Lindstrom, Aquarius program scientist, NASA Headquarters

- Eric Ianson, Aquarius program executive, NASA Headquarters

- Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius principal investigator, Earth & Space Research, Seattle

- Amit Sen, Aquarius project manager, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

- Daniel Caruso, Aquarius/SAC-D project manager, CONAE, Buenos Aires

The briefing will be held in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, located at 300 E St. SW, Washington. Reporters unable to attend in person may ask questions from participating NASA centers or by telephone. To participate by phone, reporters must contact Dwayne Brown at 202-358-1726 or dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov by 9 a.m. on May 17.

The news conference will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

Viewers also can watch the event and chat live on Ustream at http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2.

For more information about Aquarius/SAC-D, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aquarius and http://www.conae.gov.ar/eng/principal.html.

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International Media Accreditation For Aquarius/SAC-D Launch Open

Steve Cole

Headquarters, Washington     

 

WASHINGTON -- International journalists who would like to cover the June 9 launch of the Aquarius/SAC-D mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California need to apply for credentials by May 9. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how changes in ocean surface salinity relate to fundamental climate processes.

The Aquarius/SAC-D liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from NASA's Space Launch Complex 2 is targeted for 10:20 a.m. EDT (7:20 a.m. PDT) June 9. Because of U.S. Air Force requirements, international news media representatives must apply for accreditation more than 30 days before the launch.

International journalists should contact Jeremy Eggers, 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 805-606-3595 or jeremy.eggers@vandenberg.af.mil. They must provide full legal name, date of birth, nationality, passport number and media affiliation. A legal photo identification will be required upon arrival at Vandenberg.

The Aquarius/SAC-D mission will map global changes in the concentration of dissolved salt, or salinity, at the ocean surface. Measuring salinity is important to understanding how rainfall, evaporation, and the melting or freezing of ice influence ocean circulation and are linked to climate changes.

Aquarius is the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft. The mission is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency with participation from Brazil, Canada, France and Italy. Launch management is provided by NASA's Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For more information about the Aquarius/SAC-D mission, visit http://aquarius.nasa.gov.

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