NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Success

GRACE 1 & 2

Launch Time
Sun Mar 17, 2002 09:21 UTC

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

Rocket

Rokot/Briz KM
Eurockot
Status: Retired
Price: $13.0 million
Liftoff Thrust: 1,875 kN
Payload to LEO: 2,150 kg
Payload to GTO: 0 kg
Stages: 3
Strap-ons: 0
Rocket Height: 29.1 m
Fairing Diameter: 2.62 m
Fairing Height: 6.74 m

Mission Details

GRACE 1 & 2

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.

Payloads: 2
Total Mass: 967.0 kg
Low Earth Orbit

Location

Site 133/3, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia

Stats

2002

12th orbital launch attempt

Eurockot Launch Services

2nd mission
1st mission of 2002
2nd successful mission

Rokot

5th mission
1st mission of 2002
5th successful mission