Aqua Spacecraft Launched, Ready to Study Earth's Water Cycle

NASA's latest Earth observing satellite, Aqua, successfully launched May 4 at 2:55 a.m. PDT. Aqua is dedicated to advancing our understanding of Earth's water cycle and our environment. Launching the Aqua spacecraft marks a major milestone in support of NASA's mission to help us better understand and protect our planet.

The Aqua spacecraft lifted off from the Western Test Range of Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard a Delta II rocket. Spacecraft separation occurred at 3:54 a.m. PDT. inserting Aqua into a 438-mile (705-kilometer) orbit.

"The Aqua project has truly been a team effort and we are very excited this morning," said Aqua Project Manager Phil Sabelhaus at Goddard.

The primary goal of Aqua, as the name implies, is to gather information about water in the Earth's system. Equipped with six state-of-the-art instruments, Aqua will collect data on global precipitation, evaporation, and the cycling of water. This information will help scientists all over the world to better understand the Earth's water cycle and determine if the water cycle is accelerating as a result of climate change.

For more on Aqua, go to: http://aqua.nasa.gov/