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- [Source: NASA AQUARIUS mission web site http://aquarius.nasa.gov/ ]
[10-Jun-11] Aquarius/SAC-D rocketed into space at 7:20:13 AM PDT. Less than 57 minutes later it separated from the rocket's second stage and began communicating with ground controllers and unfurling its solar arrays. Aquarius is a focused satellite mission to measure global Sea Surface Salinity (SSS). Scientific progress is limited because conventional in situ SSS sampling is too sparse to give the global view of salinity variability that only a satellite can provide. Aquarius will resolve missing physical processes that link the water cycle, the climate, and the ocean. Aquarius is planning to launch in 2011. Aquarius/SAC-D is a space mission developed by NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina (Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, CONAE.) Group: Platform_Details Entry_ID: AQUARIUS Group: Platform_Identification Platform_Category: Earth Observation Satellites Platform_Series_or_Entity: NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Short_Name: AQUARIUS End_Group Group: Synonymous_Platform_Names Short_Name: SAC-D End_Group Group: Platform_Associated_Instruments Short_Name: PALS End_Group Group: Orbit Orbit_Altitude: 657 km Orbit_Inclination: 98.01 degrees Equator_Crossing: 6 a.m. Period: 97.74 minutes Repeat_Cycle: 7 days (103 orbits) Orbit_Type: LEO > Low Earth Orbit > Polar Sun-Synchronous End_Group Creation_Date: 2007-09-17 Online_Resource: http://aquarius.nasa.gov/ Online_Resource: http://aquarius.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Online_Resource: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/missions/aquarius Sample_Image: http://aquarius.nasa.gov/images/gallery/sat_earth-s.jpg Group: Platform_Logistics Launch_Date: 2011-06-10 Launch_Site: VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, USA Design_Life: 3 years Primary_Sponsor: USA/NASA Primary_Sponsor: ARGENTINA/CONAE End_Group End_Group
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