GRACE 1 & 2

Launch Success

Liftoff Time (GMT)

09:21:26

Sunday March 17, 2002

Mission Details

Launch Notes

First NASA mission to be launched on a Soviet/Russian launcher.

GRACE 1 & 2

Wiki

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) was a joint mission of NASA and the German Aerospace Center. Twin satellites took detailed measurements of Earth's gravity field anomalies from its launch in March 2002 to the end of its science mission in October 2017. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) is a continuation of the mission on near-identical hardware, launched in May 2018. By measuring gravity anomalies, GRACE showed how mass is distributed around the planet and how it varies over time. Data from the GRACE satellites is an important tool for studying Earth's ocean, geology, and climate. GRACE was a collaborative endeavor involving the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas at Austin, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the German Aerospace Center, and Germany's National Research Center for Geosciences, Potsdam. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was responsible for the overall mission management under the NASA ESSP (Earth System Science Pathfinder) program.

Low Earth Orbit

2 Payloads

967 kilograms

Rocket

Retired
Rokot/Briz KM

Active 2000 to 2019

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center logo

Manufacturer

Khrunichev

Price

$13.00 million

Rocket

Height: 29.1m

Payload to Orbit

LEO: 2,150 kg

GTO: 0 kg

Liftoff Thrust

1,875 Kilonewtons

Fairing

Diameter: 2.62m

Height: 6.74m

Stages

3

Launch Site

Site 133/3

Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia

Fastest Turnaround

3 days 23 hours

Stats

Rokot


5th

Mission

1st

Mission of 2002

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center


2nd

Mission

1st

Mission of 2002

2002


12th

Orbital launch attempt