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NASA’S AURA SATELLITE DELIVERED TO LAUNCH SITE
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| Artist rendition of Aura Satellite in orbit. Click image to see animation. Credit: NASA |
NASA’s Aura spacecraft has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. to begin launch preparations. Aura, packed in a special shipping container, was transported from Northrop Grumman’s Space Park manufacturing facility late last week. The spacecraft will now undergo final tests and integration with a Delta II rocket for launch in June.
Aura, the latest in the Earth Observing System (EOS) series, will help scientists to better understand the Earth’s ozone, air quality and climate. Aura’s four state-of-the-art instruments will study the atmosphere’s chemistry and dynamics.
Aura’s measurements enable us to tackle questions about ozone trends, air quality change and their linkage to climate change.
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Aura satellite being weighed just before being packed up and shipped to launch site. Credit: Northrup Grumman/NASA
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“The entire Aura team is very excited to see all our efforts come to fruition and is looking forward to a successful launch,” said Rick Pickering, Aura Project Manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Aura fulfills part of NASA’s commitment to studying the Earth as a global system and represents a key contribution by NASA to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. This mission will continue the global data already being collected by NASA’s other EOS satellites, Terra which monitors land, and Aqua, observing Earth's water cycle
The Aura spacecraft is part of NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise, a long-term research effort being conducted to determine how human-induced and natural changes affect our global environment.
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Aura arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Credit: Northrup Grumman/NASA
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