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News: Mission Status & Events |
[27-Feb-12] Friends and Colleagues,
Along with the new DR drift correction, several changes are in the works for Level 2 (L2) science data products, including an improved roughness model, and additional variables for the roughness and land corrections. These changes will be incorporated into the next operational version of the processing code, V1.3, which may be ready for evaluation release in March. As we further process the data, we will continue to investigate the bias between the data collected on the ascending passes (south to north) and the descending passes (north to south). The differences have regional patterns and the global mean ascending-descending bias is about -0.2 psu. The source is not yet understood. Click here to link to Aquarius data.
The Aquarius sensor and the SAC-D observatory continue to perform well. We are about to reach the milestone of six months of un-interrupted Aquarius data since the instrument commissioning sequence was finished on 25-Aug-11. Attached below is the 5.5-month average composite global image through 08-Feb-12.
I submitted a Brief Report on Aquarius’ progress to EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union to be published shortly. Several of us prepared a sidebar article on Aquarius to appear in the ocean salinity section of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society special issue later this year on State of the Climate 2011. Lastly, the proposal for a Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans special section on salinity remote sensing science results has been approved, with submission deadline at the end of 2012.
Please stay tuned for more information and I look forward to seeing you at these conferences...Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[21-Feb-12] PO.DAAC has released its new, interactive Aquarius Level 3 image browser. The browser allows navigation and viewing of PO.DAAC Aquarius imagery data holdings by time period as individual global sea surface salinity (SSS) maps and animation sequences. All images are of global, 1 degree spatial resolution Aquarius Level 3 v1.2DR data. Learn more at here.
[17-Feb-12] Aquarius Level 3 data are now available at the PO.DAAC. Level 3 data are gridded onto a 1 degree x 1 degree grid. Both salinity and wind speed are available in daily, 7-day, monthly, and seasonally averaged files. The data should continue to be used for evaluation purposes only. Learn more here.
[15-Feb-12] PO.DAAC has made available both Level 2 and Level 3 data for version V1.2DR of the Aquarius/SAC-D data set. The differences between V1.2DR and V1.2 result from the change of correction technique for radiometer calibration drift. For V1.2DR, the brightness temperature corrections are computed using the noise-diode deflection ratios derived from the instrument data alone, and the ancillary data were only used to train the coefficients in the deflection-ratio based correction model initially. Learn more here.
[04-Jan-12] Greetings to all, and best wishes for a prosperous New Year. A couple of months have passed since my last update in October, and there is much to report on.
During the months of October and November, the project completed the Post Launch Assessment Review (PLAR) process with NASA, and December 1st, 2011, marked the beginning of the Aquarius Science Operations Phase. The Aquarius sensor and the SAC-D observatory continue to perform well. During the holidays, we reached a milestone of having received four-months of un-interrupted Aquarius data since the instrument commissioning sequence was finished on 25 August. Click here to see the 3-month average composite global image for the time period 28 August through 29 November using bias-drift corrected data (read more about this correction below). When compared to the initial 2.5-week average image we released in September, the 3-month average yields a much less noisy pattern which clearly shows the major climatological salinity features and smaller scale structures. (The images were prepared by Norman Kuring at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center).
The team has been busy presenting papers to the scientific community including the World Climate Research Programme Open Science Conference (24-28 October, Denver) and Fall American Geophysical Union (5-9 December, San Francisco) with some of the early results. Here are some upcoming meetings that include special sessions on salinity-related topics: Aquarius/SAC-D Science Team Meeting (11-13 April, Buenos Aires); Ocean Sciences Meeting (20-24 February, Salt Lake City); IEEE MicroRad (5-9 March, Rome); and 44th International Liege Colloquium on Ocean Dynamics (7-11 May, Belgium). I am finishing a Brief Report on Aquarius' progress for publication in Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union. I have also been working with the Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans Chief Editor on plans for a special section on salinity remote sensing science results (i.e., NASA's Aquarius and European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity missions).
Although the Aquarius sensor is performing very well, the small calibration drift that I reported earlier has persisted. This has been the subject of much analysis and discussion among calibration working group members during the past several months. In October, we implemented an adaptive time-varying calibration correction for each radiometer channel using surface reference data fit to a seven-day moving window centered on each orbit file which is performing quite well. The calibration correction is done in a delayed mode and is now updated only through November. This is available as Version 1.2 on the data distribution site. We plan to release an update through the end of December in the next several days. As the overall system is better understood over time, newer and better algorithms will be developed. When new versions are ready, data will reprocessed from the beginning of collection (i.e., late August 2011). So stay tuned!
We continue to make good progress with Aquarius, and I will make an effort to provide these updates more frequently. We have a big year ahead of us in 2012...Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[01-Dec-11] Today marks the beginning of the Aquarius Science Operations Phase with completion of the NASA Post Launch Assessment Review (PLAR) process.
[23-Sep-11] I am pleased to say that an Aquarius "first light" image was the subject of a NASA Press Release on Thursday, and is generating quite a bit of excitement. You can see the image and learn more about it at the following links:
There are a few other things to know about the image: It is a composite of the first two and a half weeks of data since Aquarius became operational on August 25. These data contain uncertainties, and calibration and data validation work remains. Measurements in the southernmost ocean regions are not yet reliable as they are associated with high winds and low surface temperatures. The north-south striped patterns visible throughout the image are artifacts of small residual calibration errors and thus are not real. Low salinity values immediately adjacent to land and ice-covered areas are due to proximity to coastlines or ice edges, which introduces errors into the data. Although preliminary near-shore corrections have been applied, these will require additional analyses to correct.
It's a very good start. Enjoy the view!
Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[16-Sep-11] During the past week, the Aquarius instrument has continued operating in normal science mode, with all radiometer and radar channels performing well. There have been a couple of orbit maneuvers during the week, which caused brief data interruptions while the satellite was not in the normal earth pointing mode. The Aquarius sensors remained on, but were pointing off in the wrong direction during these intervals.
The data continue to look excellent. The Aquarius Data Processing System (ADPS) group at Goddard implemented the updates that make up Version 1.1 of the code, and reprocessed all the existing data. The calibration/validation working group assessed the results this week, and today decided that there are no evident problems with the processing code. We still plan to start releasing the data to the science team toward the end of next week.
We continue to work closely with NASA and JPL media relations personnel to issue a press release with a "first light" global salinity map by the middle to late next week, coordinated with the release of the Version 1.1 evaluation data. This image will be a composite of the first 17 days of data since the instrument became fully operational on August 25. Right now, I can say that I am very pleased with the data quality and am grateful to the members of the calibration working group and data processing team who have worked diligently over the past few weeks to get us to this stage.
Until next Friday, best regards to all,
Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[09-Sep-11] Two weeks have passed since my last posting from Cordoba Argentina on August 25th. Since that time, there are a number of important events and results to tell you about.
The Aquarius instrument has been operating in normal science mode since August 25, with all radiometer and radar channels performing well. There was a brief ~1-hour data gap on August 25th during an engineering test, and otherwise the data have been continuous for two weeks: the data so far look excellent.
Meanwhile, during the past two weeks the CONAE/SAC-D instrument team has been bringing all the other instruments on line (see here for a payload description). Preliminary results from the microwave radiometer (MWR) also look excellent. The other SAC-D instruments are still going through initial testing, and all have been powered-on successfully. At this time, the Aquarius calibration/validation (cal/val) working group has not detected any interference to Aquarius data related to the power-on of the SAC-D instruments, and this analysis is ongoing.
The final phase for the mission's post launch commissioning is a period of propulsion maneuvers, beginning next week, to refine the orbit to achieve the required exact-repeat 7-day cycle for the science operations (it is quite close to this already). The orbit adjustments will involve several different maneuvers spread out over the next four weeks. The Aquarius and MWR instruments will remain on during the propulsion maneuvers, although the satellite pointing will change and disrupt the normal measurements. Each maneuver will typically take less time than one orbit. Some maneuvers are expected to orient the sensors toward deep space and provide a serendipitous cold-sky calibration. We expect the orbit adjustment period to be finished in early October. At that time, all of the key on-orbit commissioning activities for the Aquarius/SAC-D mission will be done and we will be ready to enter the science phase of the mission.
Now, returning to the Aquarius data: The Aquarius cal/val working group has been meeting daily to review and analyze the data. Several algorithm changes, including new radiometer calibrations, are currently being implemented on the data processing system at Goddard Space Flight Center. When we verify the processing is correct, we plan to start releasing the data to the science team and broader community, likely during the week of September 19th. We plan for these data files to start at August 25, 2011, with first orbit on that day being orbit 1, cycle 1; each cycle will be 7 days and will contain 103 orbits. Note that the exact repeat will not be precisely set until the end of the orbit adjustments.
NASA Headquarters and JPL media relations personnel are also working with the project to issue a press release with a "first light" global salinity map during the week of September 19.
My intention now is to provide you a new update every week, typically on Fridays.
Until next time, best regards to all,
Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[25-Aug-11] Today the team continued with the scatterometer gain assessment and collected data in full Mission Mode. The Aquarius instrument, with all its systems, performed nominally, as expected. A final X-band downlink is being analyzed by the team and will be presented at tomorrow's Aquarius Commissioning Subphase Review (CSR). This will mark the end of Aquarius instrument commissioning.
[25-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - I am pleased to report to you all the the Aquarius instrument is fully operational in normal science mode. All the data channels appear to be working fine. Tomorrow (26-Aug-11) we will have a brief review of the commissioning activity over the past two weeks. Our work here is done. We have concluded one journey and are embarking on the next one.
The calibration working group will continue to monitor the performance as the various SAC-D sensors are turned on starting Monday (29-Aug-11). In another week or so, there is a chance that we will be ready to update the processing algorithms and perhaps start releasing data soon after. I will keep you posted.
For now, this will be my last posting from Cordoba, Argentina. Best regards to all... - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[24-Aug-11] After receiving concurrence from the Aquarius Science Team that no events correlated with the scatterometer turn-on could be seen in the radiometer data, the team proceeded to switch the scatterometer back to receive-only all-beams modes. The instrument also transmitted using all beams. The team is reviewing the x-band downlinked data. Tomorrow’s (Aug 25) activities will include one final orbit to assess the scatterometer gain in transmit mode. After that, the team will monitor the system in the full Aquarius Mission Mode.
[24-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Wednesday, we completed the final stage of the Aquarius commissioning. We evaluated the overall performance after the start of radar transmission on one beam Tuesday night. We continued to find all indications of the health of the instrument were good. The radar data look very good as well. We then proceeded to switch the instrument back to receive-only mode for one orbit then began transmitting the radar on all three beams at 21:23 UT. Aquarius is now operating in normal science mission mode!
On Thursday we will be monitoring the data in mission mode. There will be about a one-orbit interruption for a radar diagnostic test, but otherwise we will be collecting data routinely on radiometer and scatterometer channels. Toward the end of next week we will make a number of modifications to the processing algorithms, and then re-process the complete record. Assuming that is satisfactory, we will probably start releasing the data as is, recognizing that there remains many months of calibration and validation work ahead of us all. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[23-Aug-11] Today the Aquarius Science Team reviewed radiometer data: no unexpected events were seen in the timeframe of the Solid State Power Amplifier (SSPA) turn-on and the results look consistent with the radiometer data collected the previous day. There was unanimous agreement to proceed with the scatterometer single-beam transmit as planned. The scatterometer transmitted on beam 3, the team is reviewing the x-band downlinked data. Tomorrow's (Aug 24) activities will include setting the scatterometer back to "receive-only" mode, switching to all beams, and then starting to transmit on all three beams.
[23-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Tuesday, the instrument team and the calibration working group verified that the radiometer signatures were unaffected at the time that the scatterometer solid state power amplifier (SSPA) was turned on late Monday. So far so good. Later in the day, we began to transmit with the radar on beam 3 (outer beam). The preliminary assessment from the first two orbits is that the radar data are as expected with appropriate responses over the ocean. The first look at the radiometer response also shows no interference from the radar. On Wednesday we plan to start transmitting on all three beams. From that point on, Aquarius will be in normal science operating mode. We are almost there...
The calibration team continues to do excellent work on the preliminary data analysis, including refining the wind speed effect, bias estimates and finding a problem with the galactic reflection correction. The calibration biases appear to be quite stable over the first 35 orbits based on a couple of different analysis methods. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[22-Aug-11] Today a meeting was held with the Aquarius Science Team to discuss the radiometer data received to date, with unanimous agreement to proceed with the solid state power amplifier (SSPA) turn-on as planned. Aquarius then completed the second half of scatterometer checkout by turning on the SSPA. All commands have been successfully executed, and all telemetry has been verified to be nominal. Tomorrow's (Aug 23rd) activities will include setting the scatterometer mode to single beam, then starting its transmit on Beam 3 only.
[22-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Today, the calibration working group discussed various findings after a day or so of radiometer data. We are beginning to converge on consistent estimates of the radiometer brightness temperature biases for each of the polarization channels for each of the three radiometers. The team also looked carefully and found no radiometer changes associated with the turn-on of the scatterometer receiver. Accordingly, we powered on the scatterometer solid state power amplifier (SSPA) earlier this evening (without the transmitter on). We are doing these sequential scatterometer commissioning steps while the satellite is viewing the ocean and away from land to minimize and external variations. This increases our confidence that each stage has no measurable effect of the radiometer signal. Even though this was all verified on the ground during the extensive pre-launch testing, we are taking these careful steps to verify that it is all working as planned in orbit. Assuming that all looks well Tuesday, we will initiate the radar transmitter on one of the three beams late in the day. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[21-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - The Aquarius instrument calibration/validation working group worked late Saturday and early Sunday on several aspects of the radiometer data quality from the first few orbits since it was turned on Saturday evening. All the radiometer channels are showing values that are consistent with pre-launch calibration. Preliminary estimates of the biases indicate that they are much as 4 to 5 Kelvin in some channels, but that is as expected. Calibration otherwise appears to be very stable. We also see a clear, albeit noisy, wind-speed correlation that is also consistent with pre-launch estimates.
Late Sunday, we powered-on the radar scatterometer in receive-only mode. Preliminary analyses of the first orbit shows that the receiver gains are very stable over the ocean and clear of radio frequency interference (RFI).
The task for Monday is to verify, as best as possible, that scatterometer power-on had no effect on the radiometer data. Later on Monday, we will turn on the radar scatterometer solid state power amplifier (SSPA), but without radar transmission. Again, we will be examining whether the subsequent radiometer data shows any effect. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[20-Aug-11] Today's activities included completing the Flight Software Patches and Radiometer RF On. All commands were successfully executed, and all telemetry was verified to be nominal. Tomorrow’s activities include setting up the Scatterometer parameters and then powering on the instrument. Nominally, Aquarius will be put into Mission Mode on 26-Aug with the Commissioning Review on 27-Aug.
[20-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - On Saturday evening the team powered-on the Aquarius radiometers for the first time in space. This occurred during the pass over McMurdo Ground Station, Antarctica, during the pass that began at 2022 UT, and the power on was at about 2027 UT. All the initial telemetry looked good. It was gratifying to see the many indicators turn green on the telemetry viewer.
At 2218 UT we got the first science data downlink here at Cordoba, which covered almost 1.5 orbits. The initial analysis of the radiometer electronics was much like what was expected. The initial calculations of the radiometer science data antenna brightness temperatures also looked excellent. The over-ocean values were as expected and it was easy to see the large changes between land and ocean. Deriving salinity from the data is not yet feasible until we compute now calibrations for the radiometers.
The calibration/validation team will be studying the initial few orbits Sunday to ensure that all is clear to power-on the scatterometer electronics later in the day. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[19-Aug-11] Planned Flight Software (FSW) Patches were installed. All commands were successfully executed, and all telemetry was verified to be nominal. X-band downlinks were performed before and after the patch installation to verify the integrity of the Instrument Command and Data System (ICDS). The Active Thermal Controlled 4 thermal zones are exhibiting excellent thermal stability.
[19-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Friday, the Active Thermal Control (ATC) system brought key zones on the instrument up to their design operating temperatures. Very precise thermal control is necessary to ensure the proper sensor calibration once the science instruments are turned on later. The telemetry today showed that the ATC is working very well and the measured variations remained much smaller than the design requirements.
The remainder of the work Friday was uploading and verifying the flight software patches. The telemetry showed that this was also going smoothly.
Saturday's activities include uploading and installing the remaining software patches. The microwave radiometers are now scheduled to be turned on during a pass over the Alaska ground station beginning at 1803 UT Saturday. The first data downlink will be 4 hours later, after about 2.5 orbits. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[18-Aug-11] The Radiometer Digital Processing Unit (DPU) was powered on today. The four Active Thermal Control (ATC) zones were configured for the nominal mission mode, and the four ATC zones were powered on. The ATC heater modules are operating at 100% until their control PRTs reach their setpoints. All commands were successfully executed, and all telemetry was verified to be nominal. Tomorrow, August 19th, will include turning on the radiometer and scatterometer replacement heaters, uplinking and installing the Scatterometer Flight SoftWare (FSW) patch, and uplinking the Science FSW patch.
[18-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Today's activities were quite calm relative to the past two days. The Aquarius team first executed commands to power-up the radiometer's digital processing unit. This was followed by sequentially powering on the four Active Thermal Control (ATC) zones within the Aquarius instrument to bring them up to the planned operating temperatures. The telemetry readings were all positive throughout the day.
On Friday the team will upload a series of software patches. One of team explained to me last night that it is like downloading and installing a new 'service pack' for your favorite computer applications. In the case of Aquarius, these will apply some critical updates to the instrument flight software.
I regret that I have no fancy diagrams to share today. If you can read spanish, you might enjoy this interview that was published today in Argentina's Clarin newspaper. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[17-Aug-11] At approximately 12:02pm local Cordoba Argentina time, the Aquarius boom was successfully deployed and latched, confirmed by the real-time downlinked telemetry. This completes the one-time deployment of the Aquarius antenna system. Tomorrow, Aug 18th, the team will turn on the Radiometer Digital Processing Unit and the Active Thermal Control.
[17-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Earlier today, we completed the second deployment stage of the Aquarius antenna at about 1501 UT, with many cheers from those of us sitting here overlooking the control room. The deployment again took place over the Arctic with coverage from Svalbard and Alaska tracking stations.
Today's diagram shows the satellite's roll, pitch and yaw angles. The roll (green symbols) changed almost 8 degrees during the deployment, as predicted. The boom and reflector combination are now latched into the proper alignment, and the satellite is back in the normal science pointing mode. This critical event is now successfully behind us, and we are one giant step closer to begin collecting science data.
Tomorrow and Friday we will turn on the thermal control system and upload software patches. The radiometers will be turned on Saturday, 20 August (a correction from yesterday's memo). - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[16-Aug-11] At approx. 11:35am local Cordoba, Argentina time the Aquarius reflector was successfully deployed and latched, confirmed by the real-time downlinked telemetry. Tomorrow, Aug 17th, the Flight Operations Team plans to deploy the boom.
[16-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Today, the first deployment stage of the Aquarius 2.5m x 3.0m parabolic antenna reflector was completed at 1435 UT. The separation hardware released the reflector portion from its previously stowed position (since before launch). The deployment took place over the Arctic with coverage from Svalbard and Alaska tracking stations.
The attached diagram shows the satellite's roll angle change about 0.5 degree during the deployment. This small roll was expected as the satellite responded with the change in angular momentum while the reflector was in motion. Telemetry from the contact switches verified that the reflector was then successfully latched.
This was a critical step. Tomorrow, 17 August, a similar procedure will release the boom restraint and allow the boom and reflector combination to rotate and latch into the proper alignment. We expect to see a larger roll response to this maneuver.
When the antenna is fully deployed, we will begin the final steps prior to powering-on the sensors. The remainder of the week will include turning-on the thermal control system and uploading software patches. We plan to turn on the radiometers on Sunday, 20 August. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[15-Aug-11] The Radiometer Digital Processing Unit (DPU) was turned on today and DPU telemetry was nominal. During the next few passes, the Op Heaters for the Upper Deployment Mechanism (UDM) and Lower Deployment Mechanism (LDM) were turned on to prepare for the reflector deployment on August 16 and boom deployment on August 17. The technical team in Cordoba, Argentina will go through the sequences to power-on Aquarius and start collecting the first data on Sunday, August 21 (Radiometer on) followed by the turn-on sequence for the Scatterometer (22-27 Aug).
[15-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - I am writing from the CONAE ground station in Cordoba, Argentina, during the commissioning of the Aquarius instrument on the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite. For the next two weeks the technical team here will go through the sequences to power-on the instrument and start collecting the first-look data. I will endeavor to send out an update on a daily basis, but no promises….
Yesterday, we powered on the Instrument Control and Data System (ICDS), the Aquarius on-board computer. Everything looks good so far.
Today we are executing commands to start the pre-deployment heaters, in preparation for the antenna deployment. This will be in two stages: the reflector (upper deployment mechanism, UDM) on Tuesday, followed by the boom (lower deployment mechanism, LDM) and Wednesday.
Here is the plan for the next several weeks. Things may change depending whether we encounter any issues. So far, things have been going smoothly yesterday and today. In a large part, this is a credit to how well organized and prepared our instrument engineering team is.
[14-Aug-11] The Aquarius Instrument Control and Data System (ICDS) turned on at 13:32 UTC, as expected, on August 14 over Svalbard (island halfway between Norway and the North Pole). Tomorrow, the Digital Processing Unit (DPU) will be turned on followed by the Op Heaters in preparation for the deployment. Deployment of the Aquarius reflector is scheduled for August 16th and boom on August 17th.
[13-Aug-11] Over the last few days the Aquarius team and the Flight Operations Team (FOT) completed planning and preparing for the Aquarius and FOT prerequisites required to begin Aquarius commissioning. Close out of the FOT-related prerequisites was successfully completed and the Aquarius Commissioning Readiness Review was held today. As a result, a "GO" was given to uplink commands to the spacecraft for turn-on of the Aquarius Instrument Control and Data System (ICDS) on Sunday August 14, 2011. Contingency passes have also been planned for this activity.
[10-Aug-11] Last week, the Flight Operations Team (FOT) focused their effort on initial orbit maneuvers. As of August 9th, the observatory is at the desired orbit. In Cordoba, Argentina, the Aquarius team established prerequisites prior to the start of Aquarius commissioning. There will be a final orbit maneuver after Aquarius and all SAC-D instruments are commissioned.
[11-Jul-2011] The SAC-D observatory is in the process of on-orbit checkout prior to turning on the instruments. The spacecraft is healthy and the telemetry looks good. Some delays have occurred with testing the attitude control system parameters. Turning on all of the Aquarius/SAC-D instruments is now likely to begin in mid-August and will take about one month.
[10-Jun-2011] 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.
[10-Jun-2011] NASA'S "AGE OF AQUARIUS" DAWNS WITH LAUNCH FROM CALIFORNIA
WASHINGTON -- NASA's 'Age of Aquarius' dawned Friday with the launch of an international satellite carrying the agency-built Aquarius instrument that will measure the saltiness of Earth's oceans to advance our understanding of the global water cycle and improve climate forecasts. more
[10-Jun-2011] Launch coverage will begin today at 5:30am PDT (8:30am EDT).
[10-Jun-2011] NASA's Launch Blog.
[10-Jun-2011] Status update.
[08-Jun-2011] PASADENA, Calif. -- The launch of the international Aquarius/SAC-D mission is postponed 24 hours until Friday, June 10, from NASA's Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The 5-minute launch window opens at 7:20 a.m. PDT (10:20 a.m. EDT) More
[30-May-2011] This week, a number of significant milestones were achieved at Vandenberg Air Force Base in preparation for launch. The final pre-launch electrical test of the Aquarius instrument was performed on 24-May. The test was successfully completed and all telemetry was nominal. On 27-May, the feed covers were removed from the instrument and a final contamination-control inspection was performed to confirm that the Aquarius instrument meets all of its cleanliness requirements; with these feed covers removed, Aquarius is configured for launch. On 28-May, the fairing was installed around the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory (see photos #15 and #16).
[20-May-2011] The canister containing the Aquarius/SAC-D Observatory is lifted to top of the launch tower at Space Launch Complex-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (see photos #10 through #14).
[18-May-11] The Launch Vehicle Adapter (LVA) has been attached and mated to the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF), which is launch-vehicle hardware. On Friday and Saturday, the Observatory bag was installed in preparation for transportation to the launch pad (see photos #5 through #7 prior to final bag close-out around the LVA). The ground-handling can was then installed onto the S/C and the canned S/C was transferred to the trailer (photos #8 and #9).
[29-Apr-11] Less than two months before launch, team members conduct their final checks of the Aquarius instrument at the Spaceport Systems International Integrated Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Subsequent final instrument tests will be conducted on the launch pad.
[31-Mar-11] The Aquarius/SAC-D payload arrived safely at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) at 4:18 PM PDT
aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane. The spacecraft is in the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at VAFB.
Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June
launch to low Earth orbit. See images at the Kennedy Media Gallery.
[30-Mar-11] After overnight crew rest, the second C-17 flight with the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory left San Juan, Puerto Rico at 11:36AM local time on its way to the launch processing facility and launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California. The plane is expected to land today at VAFB around 4:30pm PDT.
[29-Mar-11] The US Air Force C-17 carrying the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory departed from Brazil today at 11:57AM local time. There will be about a 7-hour flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico for an overnight stop, then on to Vandenberg Air Force Base (Calif.) tomorrow.
[26-Mar-11]
[23-Mar-11] Palette loading of the Ground Support Equipment (GSE) has been completed. The GSE will leave Brazil on a C-17 on March 26th and arrive at Vandenberg Air Force Base (Calif.) on March 27th. In addition, the Aquarius/SAC-D Observatory has been lifted into its shipping container, destined for Vandenberg Air Force Base next week.
[21-Mar-11] The First Stage with Solid Motors, Interstage, and Second Stage for the Aquarius/SAC-D
launch vehicle have been erected at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB). The Aquarius/SAC-D observatory will leave Brazil on two C-17
flights, arriving at VAFB on March 27th and 30th in preparation for launch on June 9th.
[15-Mar-11] The Aquarius/SAC-D Pre Ship Review was successfully completed at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research in early March 2011. Air transport of the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory from Brazil to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) is scheduled for Mar 26th and 29th. The first stage of the Delta II rocket that will carry NASA's Aquarius instrument into low Earth orbit has been raised onto its launch pad at VAFB Space Launch Complex-2. The nominal launch date for Aquarius/SAC-D is June 9th, 2011.
[19-Jan-11]Aquarius MLI activities and post-t-vac cleaning/inspection tasks have been successfully completed. All blankets planned for close-out at this time have been completed and inspected. All external MLI surfaces of the Observatory were cleaned, and white-light inspection showed no visible debris, thus meeting the VC-HS (visibly clean, highly sensitive) requirement. Molecular and particulate surface samples were collected after the cleaning/inspection for analysis.
[18-Jan-11] MLI activities continue: the reflector and sunshade blankets were completed. All thermal instrumentation has been removed as planned; the OMT test heaters will be grounded to the instrument. The flight grounding of all blankets has been installed and verified, with the exception of about a half-dozen blankets that will be closed out later.
[17-Jan-11] MLI activities continue: the +/-X spacecraft bipods and the structure have been completed, and the mechanical close-out of the sunshade was finalized. The reflector MLI and the OMT covers are in work today. View our incredible pit crew in action around the instrument here (close-up).
[16-Jan-11] The Aquarius team started on the MLI activities that will continue all week. Specifically, general cleaning and inspection are being done to address the fall-out observed after the thermal-vac test. The thermal instrumentation (thermocouples and test heaters) will be removed, MLI grounding is being verified, and final lacing and close-out of the MLI is being performed. The Upper Deployment Mechanism (UDM), Lower Deployment Mechanism (LDM), Launch Restraint bipod/tripod, the feeds and the -Z spacecraft bipod were completed. The activities are proceeding nominally.
[15-Jan-11] INVAP has completed the S/P closed-loop AOCS test and the ACE special test. They demated the cabling to the spacecraft and rotated it to the horizontal position. The Aquarius EGSE cables were demated. To recover the schedule, the Aquarius team will be performing the cleaning and starting blanket activities on January 16th.
[14-Jan-11] The Aquarius LPT was performed. All results were nominal.
[23-Nov-10] NASA provides more detail on the transfer of the Aquarius instrument and the Argentinian spacecraft that will carry it into space, the Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas (SAC-D), into the thermal vacuum chamber at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Laboratório de Integração e Testes – Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, or LIT-INPE) on Nov. 15.
[15-Nov-10] The Aquarius/SAC-D observatory has been moved into the thermal-vacuum chamber (6 meters by 8 meters) at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Laboratório de Integração e Testes - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, LIT-INPE). Over the course of a few days, ground support equipment will be hooked up and the chamber door will be closed in preparation for Aquarius/SAC-D thermal-vacuum tests.
[22-Oct-10] The Aquarius launch date has been updated to June 9, 2011. More details are available at http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html.
[02-Sep-10] During the external points measurement today, the covers were removed from the solar panels, giving a very good view of the Observatory.
[26-Aug-10] A good deploy on the first panel! Movie (mp4, 5.5 MB)
[25-Aug-10] The +X Solar Panel was successfully mounted on the SAC-D Service Platform yesterday on schedule. Deployment testing of this panel will take place today. Image 1 | Image 2
[28-Jun-10] The rest of the Ground Support Equipment for testing the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory landed safely at 12:40 pm local Brazilian time. The cargo was safely and successfully transferred to the integration and testing laboratory at INPE (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais). This marks the start of the Brazil Environmental Test Campaign for Aquarius/SAC-D.
[27-Jun-10] The satellite convey has successfully transferred the observatory to the INPE/LIT facility. A second C-17 flight with the remaining pallets and ground support equipment is scheduled to arrive in Sáo José dos Campos, Brazil at noon tomorrow.
[26-Jun-10] Over the past few days, the Aquarius/SAC-D Observatory was packed into its shipping container, moved from INVAP to the Bariloche airport, and then loaded onto a USAF C-17. The aircraft left Bariloche today and has now arrived in Sáo José dos Campos, Brazil. They are in the process of unloading the aircraft and transporting the Observatory to INPE/LIT.
[24-Jun-10] After months of integration and testing at the INVAP facility (Bariloche, Argentina), Aquarius/SAC-D has been boxed for shipment to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, INPE) Integration and Testing Lab, located in Sáo José dos Campos (near Sáo Paulo). At INPE, the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory will undergo its final environmental testing before being shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for an April 2011 launch date.
[15-Apr-10] We completed the thermal blanket patterns for the Aquarius bipod after routing the flight harness from the SAC-D Service Platform (S/P) to Aquarius (see photo, below left). A "fit check" of half the sunshade was completed to verify the clearance of the Aquarius ground lug as well as the blanket interface with the S/P top deck (see photo, below right). Engineers also verified the grounding resistance between the S/P top deck (near ground strap lug) to the Aquarius Instrument Connector Bracket (AICB), and it met the requirement with margin. The Aquarius Electrical Ground Support Equipment (all the non-flight test equipment we used to connect to Instrument to power and communicate) cables were installed and secured in preparation for Observatory functional testing next week.
[13-Apr-10] On Monday, April 12, the installation of the Aquarius Instrument onto the SAC-D Service Platform (S/P) was successfully completed by the JPL and INVAP integration teams. The photos (below) show Pim Vosse directing the final stages of the lift, as well as an overall view of the Observatory (note that in this picture, the non-flight lift fixture is still in place on Aquarius). The Aquarius mechanical integration continues today, with the routing and mating of the flight harness to Aquarius, followed by thermal-blanket patterning on Wednesday.
[26-Jan-10] All Aquarius electrical interfaces have successfully been connected to the SAC-D Service Platform (S/P). The S/P has now replaced the Aquarius Electrical Ground Support Equipment -- i.e., all the non-flight test equipment that was used to connect to Instrument to power and communicate -- for the operation of the instrument. Thus Aquarius is now receiving power and commands from the S/P and Aquarius telemetry and hi-rate data are being returned via the S/P. Telemetry and data files downlinked by the S/P match the files collected from an Aquarius direct-access test port, verifying the data flow from the instrument through the S/P. These successful tests represent significant milestones in the Aquarius Electrical Integration process.
[23-Jan-10] The Aquarius power interfaces and Service Platform (SP) monitored Aquarius temperature sensors were connected to the SP. An abbreviated Aquarius Limited Performance Test (LPT) was also executed. In the LPT, the Aquarius subsystems were powered up, including all radiometer strings and the scatterometer, and all subsystems were nominal.
[20-Jan-10] On Wednesday, January 20, Dr. Cristina Fernández Kirchner, the President of Argentina, visited INVAP for the inauguration of the new facilities. The visit included a tour of the Hi Bay where the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite is being tested and integrated. La Presidenta was highly interested in the Aquarius/SAC-D mission, asked a number of questions, and was pleased with NASA's attendance at the event. Click here to learn more about INVAP. Read an article about Presidenta Cristina Fernández Kirchner's visit here (in Spanish).
[01-Oct-09] International Science Teams Selected for Aquarius/SAC-D Mission. NASA and Argentina's Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), with support from the Argentine Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovative Production (MinCyT), have selected additional members of the international scientific investigating team for the Aquarius/Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D mission, scheduled to launch in 2010.
[09-Sep-09] The Aquarius/SAC-D satellite mission will convene the 5th Science Meeting 21-23 October 2009, Buenos Aires, Argentina. This event will meet the International Aquarius/SAC-D Science Team, selected through the NASA and CONAE-MinCyT Joint Selection Process (more)
[01-Jun-09] The Aquarius instrument is prepped for June 1st shipment to Argentina
[11-May-09] The 5th Aquarius/SAC-D Science Meeting will be held in Buenos Aires on 21-23 October 2009
[08-May-09] Air-ship of Aquarius instrument to Argentina is set for 01 June 2009
[01-Dec-08] The 4th Aquarius/SAC-D Science Workshop was held in Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina on 3-5 December 2008. Sessions addressed calibration and validation and explored a range of scientific studies and practical applications, such as the global hydrological cycle, ocean circulation, climate variability, oceanic CO2 flux, land processes, land use, soil moisture, natural hazards, cryosphere, operational forecasting, among many others. This conference was held in honor of the late Dr. F. Raul Colomb, Principal Investigator for the CONAE SAC-C and SAC-D Missions. (Click here to learn more)
[08-May-09] Aquarius "Pre-ship" review meeting
[06-May-09] Air-ship dry run with empty Aquarius instrument shipping container on USAF C17 (see image)
[May 2009] Pre-ship electrical testing of Aquarius instrument after the "Random Vibe Test" at JPL (see image)
[Apr 2009] Aquarius instrument undergoes "Random Vibe Test" at JPL (see image)
[Feb 2009] Aquarius Instrument Thermal Vacuum (TVAC-2) & First Motion Test at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (see image)
[Jan 2009] Aquarius Instrument Acoustics Testing at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (see image)
[Dec 2008] Aquarius Instrument Vibration Testing at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (see image)
[11-Dec-08] Aquarius Principal Investigator Dr. Gary Lagerloef convened an American Geophysical Union Special Session Special Joint Session: "Climatic Variability in the Marine Freshwater Cycle"
[01-Dec-08] The 4th Aquarius/SAC-D Science Workshop was held in Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina on 3-5 December 2008. Sessions addressed calibration and validation and explored a range of scientific studies and practical applications, such as the global hydrological cycle, ocean circulation, climate variability, oceanic CO2 flux, land processes, land use, soil moisture, natural hazards, cryosphere, operational forecasting, among many others. This conference was held in honor of the late Dr. F. Raul Colomb, Principal Investigator for the CONAE SAC-C and SAC-D Missions. (Click here to learn more)
[Nov 2008] Aquarius Boom & Reflector Integration at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (see image)
[24-Jul-08] Aquarius/SAC-D Observatory passed its Mission Critical Design Review, held 21-24 July 2008 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
[Jun 2008] Dr. Sandra Torrusio has been named the new SAC-D Principal Investigator. Dr. Torrusio has specialized in remote sensing applications to natural resources and disaster management since 1989. She is the author of over 40 publications and presentations in national and international meetings, and a participant in international courses. Dr. Torrusio received her Ph.D. in Natural Sciences at the National University of La Plata in 2003.
[15-Feb-08] NASA's Research Announcement for the Ocean Salinity Science Team has been released. The objective of this program element is to select a new U.S. Ocean Salinity Science Team to support and participate in the U.S./CONAE Aquarius/SAC-D mission and joint Aquarius/SAC-D Science Team. Solicitation closes on 30-Oct-08. (Click here to learn more)
[Jan 2008] After a four-year development effort, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has delivered the Aquarius Radiometer to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The Radiometer, built by an in-house team of scientists, engineers, and technicians at GSFC is part of the international Aquarius/SAC-D mission. The Radiometer will be integrated with the Aquarius instrument at JPL. (Click here to learn more)
Science Team Meeting
The next Aquarius/SAC-D Science Team Meeting will be 11-13 April 2012 in Buenos Aires, and the date is fast approaching. The meeting
website provides travel, venue, lodging and registration information.
This will be the first post-launch reunion of the joint US-Argentine Aquarius/SAC-D Science Team and will focus on instrument
performance assessments and early science results. The call for abstracts will be posted on the meeting website, and is shown below.
Abstract deadline is 20-Mar-12.Aquarius Science Algorithm and Data Products
During the months of January and February, the algorithm team has been designing and testing a new correction to radiometer calibration
drift using internal sensor data called "deflection ratios" (DR). The good news is that this does an excellent job of correcting the
long-term monotonic drift. However, residual shorter-term transient variations are not fully corrected and leave small (~0.2 psu)
quasi-monthly variations in the data. Of course we are working on this now, so we expect to have additional corrections to come along
as soon as we can.Along with the new DR drift correction, several changes are in the works for Level 2 (L2) science data products, including an improved roughness model, and additional variables for the roughness and land corrections. These changes will be incorporated into the next operational version of the processing code, V1.3, which may be ready for evaluation release in March. As we further process the data, we will continue to investigate the bias between the data collected on the ascending passes (south to north) and the descending passes (north to south). The differences have regional patterns and the global mean ascending-descending bias is about -0.2 psu. The source is not yet understood. Click here to link to Aquarius data.
The Aquarius sensor and the SAC-D observatory continue to perform well. We are about to reach the milestone of six months of un-interrupted Aquarius data since the instrument commissioning sequence was finished on 25-Aug-11. Attached below is the 5.5-month average composite global image through 08-Feb-12.
Presentations and Publications
Science papers were presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2012, Salt Lake City, including a focused session on Monday February
20th. An Aquarius special session is scheduled at the IEEE
MicroRad meeting 5-9 March in Rome, Italy. Papers are submitted also for the European Geosciences Union General Assembly
in Vienna (23-27 April) and the 44th International Liege Colloquium on Ocean Dynamics
in Belgium (7-11 May). Special sessions for salinity remote sensing are also planned for the IEEE International Geoscience And Remote Sensing Symposium
in Munich (22-27 July).I submitted a Brief Report on Aquarius’ progress to EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union to be published shortly. Several of us prepared a sidebar article on Aquarius to appear in the ocean salinity section of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society special issue later this year on State of the Climate 2011. Lastly, the proposal for a Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans special section on salinity remote sensing science results has been approved, with submission deadline at the end of 2012.
Please stay tuned for more information and I look forward to seeing you at these conferences...Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[21-Feb-12] PO.DAAC has released its new, interactive Aquarius Level 3 image browser. The browser allows navigation and viewing of PO.DAAC Aquarius imagery data holdings by time period as individual global sea surface salinity (SSS) maps and animation sequences. All images are of global, 1 degree spatial resolution Aquarius Level 3 v1.2DR data. Learn more at here.
[17-Feb-12] Aquarius Level 3 data are now available at the PO.DAAC. Level 3 data are gridded onto a 1 degree x 1 degree grid. Both salinity and wind speed are available in daily, 7-day, monthly, and seasonally averaged files. The data should continue to be used for evaluation purposes only. Learn more here.
[15-Feb-12] PO.DAAC has made available both Level 2 and Level 3 data for version V1.2DR of the Aquarius/SAC-D data set. The differences between V1.2DR and V1.2 result from the change of correction technique for radiometer calibration drift. For V1.2DR, the brightness temperature corrections are computed using the noise-diode deflection ratios derived from the instrument data alone, and the ancillary data were only used to train the coefficients in the deflection-ratio based correction model initially. Learn more here.
[04-Jan-12] Greetings to all, and best wishes for a prosperous New Year. A couple of months have passed since my last update in October, and there is much to report on.
During the months of October and November, the project completed the Post Launch Assessment Review (PLAR) process with NASA, and December 1st, 2011, marked the beginning of the Aquarius Science Operations Phase. The Aquarius sensor and the SAC-D observatory continue to perform well. During the holidays, we reached a milestone of having received four-months of un-interrupted Aquarius data since the instrument commissioning sequence was finished on 25 August. Click here to see the 3-month average composite global image for the time period 28 August through 29 November using bias-drift corrected data (read more about this correction below). When compared to the initial 2.5-week average image we released in September, the 3-month average yields a much less noisy pattern which clearly shows the major climatological salinity features and smaller scale structures. (The images were prepared by Norman Kuring at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center).
The team has been busy presenting papers to the scientific community including the World Climate Research Programme Open Science Conference (24-28 October, Denver) and Fall American Geophysical Union (5-9 December, San Francisco) with some of the early results. Here are some upcoming meetings that include special sessions on salinity-related topics: Aquarius/SAC-D Science Team Meeting (11-13 April, Buenos Aires); Ocean Sciences Meeting (20-24 February, Salt Lake City); IEEE MicroRad (5-9 March, Rome); and 44th International Liege Colloquium on Ocean Dynamics (7-11 May, Belgium). I am finishing a Brief Report on Aquarius' progress for publication in Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union. I have also been working with the Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans Chief Editor on plans for a special section on salinity remote sensing science results (i.e., NASA's Aquarius and European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity missions).
Although the Aquarius sensor is performing very well, the small calibration drift that I reported earlier has persisted. This has been the subject of much analysis and discussion among calibration working group members during the past several months. In October, we implemented an adaptive time-varying calibration correction for each radiometer channel using surface reference data fit to a seven-day moving window centered on each orbit file which is performing quite well. The calibration correction is done in a delayed mode and is now updated only through November. This is available as Version 1.2 on the data distribution site. We plan to release an update through the end of December in the next several days. As the overall system is better understood over time, newer and better algorithms will be developed. When new versions are ready, data will reprocessed from the beginning of collection (i.e., late August 2011). So stay tuned!
We continue to make good progress with Aquarius, and I will make an effort to provide these updates more frequently. We have a big year ahead of us in 2012...Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[01-Dec-11] Today marks the beginning of the Aquarius Science Operations Phase with completion of the NASA Post Launch Assessment Review (PLAR) process.
[23-Sep-11] I am pleased to say that an Aquarius "first light" image was the subject of a NASA Press Release on Thursday, and is generating quite a bit of excitement. You can see the image and learn more about it at the following links:
- Aquarius Yields NASA's First Global Map of Ocean Salinity
- NASA's 'Salt of the Earth' Aquarius Reveals First Map
There are a few other things to know about the image: It is a composite of the first two and a half weeks of data since Aquarius became operational on August 25. These data contain uncertainties, and calibration and data validation work remains. Measurements in the southernmost ocean regions are not yet reliable as they are associated with high winds and low surface temperatures. The north-south striped patterns visible throughout the image are artifacts of small residual calibration errors and thus are not real. Low salinity values immediately adjacent to land and ice-covered areas are due to proximity to coastlines or ice edges, which introduces errors into the data. Although preliminary near-shore corrections have been applied, these will require additional analyses to correct.
It's a very good start. Enjoy the view!
Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[16-Sep-11] During the past week, the Aquarius instrument has continued operating in normal science mode, with all radiometer and radar channels performing well. There have been a couple of orbit maneuvers during the week, which caused brief data interruptions while the satellite was not in the normal earth pointing mode. The Aquarius sensors remained on, but were pointing off in the wrong direction during these intervals.
The data continue to look excellent. The Aquarius Data Processing System (ADPS) group at Goddard implemented the updates that make up Version 1.1 of the code, and reprocessed all the existing data. The calibration/validation working group assessed the results this week, and today decided that there are no evident problems with the processing code. We still plan to start releasing the data to the science team toward the end of next week.
We continue to work closely with NASA and JPL media relations personnel to issue a press release with a "first light" global salinity map by the middle to late next week, coordinated with the release of the Version 1.1 evaluation data. This image will be a composite of the first 17 days of data since the instrument became fully operational on August 25. Right now, I can say that I am very pleased with the data quality and am grateful to the members of the calibration working group and data processing team who have worked diligently over the past few weeks to get us to this stage.
Until next Friday, best regards to all,
Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[09-Sep-11] Two weeks have passed since my last posting from Cordoba Argentina on August 25th. Since that time, there are a number of important events and results to tell you about.
The Aquarius instrument has been operating in normal science mode since August 25, with all radiometer and radar channels performing well. There was a brief ~1-hour data gap on August 25th during an engineering test, and otherwise the data have been continuous for two weeks: the data so far look excellent.
Meanwhile, during the past two weeks the CONAE/SAC-D instrument team has been bringing all the other instruments on line (see here for a payload description). Preliminary results from the microwave radiometer (MWR) also look excellent. The other SAC-D instruments are still going through initial testing, and all have been powered-on successfully. At this time, the Aquarius calibration/validation (cal/val) working group has not detected any interference to Aquarius data related to the power-on of the SAC-D instruments, and this analysis is ongoing.
The final phase for the mission's post launch commissioning is a period of propulsion maneuvers, beginning next week, to refine the orbit to achieve the required exact-repeat 7-day cycle for the science operations (it is quite close to this already). The orbit adjustments will involve several different maneuvers spread out over the next four weeks. The Aquarius and MWR instruments will remain on during the propulsion maneuvers, although the satellite pointing will change and disrupt the normal measurements. Each maneuver will typically take less time than one orbit. Some maneuvers are expected to orient the sensors toward deep space and provide a serendipitous cold-sky calibration. We expect the orbit adjustment period to be finished in early October. At that time, all of the key on-orbit commissioning activities for the Aquarius/SAC-D mission will be done and we will be ready to enter the science phase of the mission.
Now, returning to the Aquarius data: The Aquarius cal/val working group has been meeting daily to review and analyze the data. Several algorithm changes, including new radiometer calibrations, are currently being implemented on the data processing system at Goddard Space Flight Center. When we verify the processing is correct, we plan to start releasing the data to the science team and broader community, likely during the week of September 19th. We plan for these data files to start at August 25, 2011, with first orbit on that day being orbit 1, cycle 1; each cycle will be 7 days and will contain 103 orbits. Note that the exact repeat will not be precisely set until the end of the orbit adjustments.
NASA Headquarters and JPL media relations personnel are also working with the project to issue a press release with a "first light" global salinity map during the week of September 19.
My intention now is to provide you a new update every week, typically on Fridays.
Until next time, best regards to all,
Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[25-Aug-11] Today the team continued with the scatterometer gain assessment and collected data in full Mission Mode. The Aquarius instrument, with all its systems, performed nominally, as expected. A final X-band downlink is being analyzed by the team and will be presented at tomorrow's Aquarius Commissioning Subphase Review (CSR). This will mark the end of Aquarius instrument commissioning.
[25-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - I am pleased to report to you all the the Aquarius instrument is fully operational in normal science mode. All the data channels appear to be working fine. Tomorrow (26-Aug-11) we will have a brief review of the commissioning activity over the past two weeks. Our work here is done. We have concluded one journey and are embarking on the next one.
The calibration working group will continue to monitor the performance as the various SAC-D sensors are turned on starting Monday (29-Aug-11). In another week or so, there is a chance that we will be ready to update the processing algorithms and perhaps start releasing data soon after. I will keep you posted.
For now, this will be my last posting from Cordoba, Argentina. Best regards to all... - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[24-Aug-11] After receiving concurrence from the Aquarius Science Team that no events correlated with the scatterometer turn-on could be seen in the radiometer data, the team proceeded to switch the scatterometer back to receive-only all-beams modes. The instrument also transmitted using all beams. The team is reviewing the x-band downlinked data. Tomorrow’s (Aug 25) activities will include one final orbit to assess the scatterometer gain in transmit mode. After that, the team will monitor the system in the full Aquarius Mission Mode.
[24-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Wednesday, we completed the final stage of the Aquarius commissioning. We evaluated the overall performance after the start of radar transmission on one beam Tuesday night. We continued to find all indications of the health of the instrument were good. The radar data look very good as well. We then proceeded to switch the instrument back to receive-only mode for one orbit then began transmitting the radar on all three beams at 21:23 UT. Aquarius is now operating in normal science mission mode!
On Thursday we will be monitoring the data in mission mode. There will be about a one-orbit interruption for a radar diagnostic test, but otherwise we will be collecting data routinely on radiometer and scatterometer channels. Toward the end of next week we will make a number of modifications to the processing algorithms, and then re-process the complete record. Assuming that is satisfactory, we will probably start releasing the data as is, recognizing that there remains many months of calibration and validation work ahead of us all. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[23-Aug-11] Today the Aquarius Science Team reviewed radiometer data: no unexpected events were seen in the timeframe of the Solid State Power Amplifier (SSPA) turn-on and the results look consistent with the radiometer data collected the previous day. There was unanimous agreement to proceed with the scatterometer single-beam transmit as planned. The scatterometer transmitted on beam 3, the team is reviewing the x-band downlinked data. Tomorrow's (Aug 24) activities will include setting the scatterometer back to "receive-only" mode, switching to all beams, and then starting to transmit on all three beams.
[23-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Tuesday, the instrument team and the calibration working group verified that the radiometer signatures were unaffected at the time that the scatterometer solid state power amplifier (SSPA) was turned on late Monday. So far so good. Later in the day, we began to transmit with the radar on beam 3 (outer beam). The preliminary assessment from the first two orbits is that the radar data are as expected with appropriate responses over the ocean. The first look at the radiometer response also shows no interference from the radar. On Wednesday we plan to start transmitting on all three beams. From that point on, Aquarius will be in normal science operating mode. We are almost there...
The calibration team continues to do excellent work on the preliminary data analysis, including refining the wind speed effect, bias estimates and finding a problem with the galactic reflection correction. The calibration biases appear to be quite stable over the first 35 orbits based on a couple of different analysis methods. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[22-Aug-11] Today a meeting was held with the Aquarius Science Team to discuss the radiometer data received to date, with unanimous agreement to proceed with the solid state power amplifier (SSPA) turn-on as planned. Aquarius then completed the second half of scatterometer checkout by turning on the SSPA. All commands have been successfully executed, and all telemetry has been verified to be nominal. Tomorrow's (Aug 23rd) activities will include setting the scatterometer mode to single beam, then starting its transmit on Beam 3 only.
[22-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Today, the calibration working group discussed various findings after a day or so of radiometer data. We are beginning to converge on consistent estimates of the radiometer brightness temperature biases for each of the polarization channels for each of the three radiometers. The team also looked carefully and found no radiometer changes associated with the turn-on of the scatterometer receiver. Accordingly, we powered on the scatterometer solid state power amplifier (SSPA) earlier this evening (without the transmitter on). We are doing these sequential scatterometer commissioning steps while the satellite is viewing the ocean and away from land to minimize and external variations. This increases our confidence that each stage has no measurable effect of the radiometer signal. Even though this was all verified on the ground during the extensive pre-launch testing, we are taking these careful steps to verify that it is all working as planned in orbit. Assuming that all looks well Tuesday, we will initiate the radar transmitter on one of the three beams late in the day. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[21-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - The Aquarius instrument calibration/validation working group worked late Saturday and early Sunday on several aspects of the radiometer data quality from the first few orbits since it was turned on Saturday evening. All the radiometer channels are showing values that are consistent with pre-launch calibration. Preliminary estimates of the biases indicate that they are much as 4 to 5 Kelvin in some channels, but that is as expected. Calibration otherwise appears to be very stable. We also see a clear, albeit noisy, wind-speed correlation that is also consistent with pre-launch estimates.
Late Sunday, we powered-on the radar scatterometer in receive-only mode. Preliminary analyses of the first orbit shows that the receiver gains are very stable over the ocean and clear of radio frequency interference (RFI).
The task for Monday is to verify, as best as possible, that scatterometer power-on had no effect on the radiometer data. Later on Monday, we will turn on the radar scatterometer solid state power amplifier (SSPA), but without radar transmission. Again, we will be examining whether the subsequent radiometer data shows any effect. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[20-Aug-11] Today's activities included completing the Flight Software Patches and Radiometer RF On. All commands were successfully executed, and all telemetry was verified to be nominal. Tomorrow’s activities include setting up the Scatterometer parameters and then powering on the instrument. Nominally, Aquarius will be put into Mission Mode on 26-Aug with the Commissioning Review on 27-Aug.
[20-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - On Saturday evening the team powered-on the Aquarius radiometers for the first time in space. This occurred during the pass over McMurdo Ground Station, Antarctica, during the pass that began at 2022 UT, and the power on was at about 2027 UT. All the initial telemetry looked good. It was gratifying to see the many indicators turn green on the telemetry viewer.
At 2218 UT we got the first science data downlink here at Cordoba, which covered almost 1.5 orbits. The initial analysis of the radiometer electronics was much like what was expected. The initial calculations of the radiometer science data antenna brightness temperatures also looked excellent. The over-ocean values were as expected and it was easy to see the large changes between land and ocean. Deriving salinity from the data is not yet feasible until we compute now calibrations for the radiometers.
The calibration/validation team will be studying the initial few orbits Sunday to ensure that all is clear to power-on the scatterometer electronics later in the day. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[19-Aug-11] Planned Flight Software (FSW) Patches were installed. All commands were successfully executed, and all telemetry was verified to be nominal. X-band downlinks were performed before and after the patch installation to verify the integrity of the Instrument Command and Data System (ICDS). The Active Thermal Controlled 4 thermal zones are exhibiting excellent thermal stability.
[19-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Friday, the Active Thermal Control (ATC) system brought key zones on the instrument up to their design operating temperatures. Very precise thermal control is necessary to ensure the proper sensor calibration once the science instruments are turned on later. The telemetry today showed that the ATC is working very well and the measured variations remained much smaller than the design requirements.
The remainder of the work Friday was uploading and verifying the flight software patches. The telemetry showed that this was also going smoothly.
Saturday's activities include uploading and installing the remaining software patches. The microwave radiometers are now scheduled to be turned on during a pass over the Alaska ground station beginning at 1803 UT Saturday. The first data downlink will be 4 hours later, after about 2.5 orbits. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[18-Aug-11] The Radiometer Digital Processing Unit (DPU) was powered on today. The four Active Thermal Control (ATC) zones were configured for the nominal mission mode, and the four ATC zones were powered on. The ATC heater modules are operating at 100% until their control PRTs reach their setpoints. All commands were successfully executed, and all telemetry was verified to be nominal. Tomorrow, August 19th, will include turning on the radiometer and scatterometer replacement heaters, uplinking and installing the Scatterometer Flight SoftWare (FSW) patch, and uplinking the Science FSW patch.
[18-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Today's activities were quite calm relative to the past two days. The Aquarius team first executed commands to power-up the radiometer's digital processing unit. This was followed by sequentially powering on the four Active Thermal Control (ATC) zones within the Aquarius instrument to bring them up to the planned operating temperatures. The telemetry readings were all positive throughout the day.
On Friday the team will upload a series of software patches. One of team explained to me last night that it is like downloading and installing a new 'service pack' for your favorite computer applications. In the case of Aquarius, these will apply some critical updates to the instrument flight software.
I regret that I have no fancy diagrams to share today. If you can read spanish, you might enjoy this interview that was published today in Argentina's Clarin newspaper. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[17-Aug-11] At approximately 12:02pm local Cordoba Argentina time, the Aquarius boom was successfully deployed and latched, confirmed by the real-time downlinked telemetry. This completes the one-time deployment of the Aquarius antenna system. Tomorrow, Aug 18th, the team will turn on the Radiometer Digital Processing Unit and the Active Thermal Control.
[17-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Earlier today, we completed the second deployment stage of the Aquarius antenna at about 1501 UT, with many cheers from those of us sitting here overlooking the control room. The deployment again took place over the Arctic with coverage from Svalbard and Alaska tracking stations.
Today's diagram shows the satellite's roll, pitch and yaw angles. The roll (green symbols) changed almost 8 degrees during the deployment, as predicted. The boom and reflector combination are now latched into the proper alignment, and the satellite is back in the normal science pointing mode. This critical event is now successfully behind us, and we are one giant step closer to begin collecting science data.
Tomorrow and Friday we will turn on the thermal control system and upload software patches. The radiometers will be turned on Saturday, 20 August (a correction from yesterday's memo). - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[16-Aug-11] At approx. 11:35am local Cordoba, Argentina time the Aquarius reflector was successfully deployed and latched, confirmed by the real-time downlinked telemetry. Tomorrow, Aug 17th, the Flight Operations Team plans to deploy the boom.
[16-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - Today, the first deployment stage of the Aquarius 2.5m x 3.0m parabolic antenna reflector was completed at 1435 UT. The separation hardware released the reflector portion from its previously stowed position (since before launch). The deployment took place over the Arctic with coverage from Svalbard and Alaska tracking stations.
The attached diagram shows the satellite's roll angle change about 0.5 degree during the deployment. This small roll was expected as the satellite responded with the change in angular momentum while the reflector was in motion. Telemetry from the contact switches verified that the reflector was then successfully latched.
This was a critical step. Tomorrow, 17 August, a similar procedure will release the boom restraint and allow the boom and reflector combination to rotate and latch into the proper alignment. We expect to see a larger roll response to this maneuver.
When the antenna is fully deployed, we will begin the final steps prior to powering-on the sensors. The remainder of the week will include turning-on the thermal control system and uploading software patches. We plan to turn on the radiometers on Sunday, 20 August. - Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius Principal Investigator
[15-Aug-11] The Radiometer Digital Processing Unit (DPU) was turned on today and DPU telemetry was nominal. During the next few passes, the Op Heaters for the Upper Deployment Mechanism (UDM) and Lower Deployment Mechanism (LDM) were turned on to prepare for the reflector deployment on August 16 and boom deployment on August 17. The technical team in Cordoba, Argentina will go through the sequences to power-on Aquarius and start collecting the first data on Sunday, August 21 (Radiometer on) followed by the turn-on sequence for the Scatterometer (22-27 Aug).
[15-Aug-11] AQUARIUS PI DAILY UPDATE DURING THE AQUARIUS COMMISSIONING - I am writing from the CONAE ground station in Cordoba, Argentina, during the commissioning of the Aquarius instrument on the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite. For the next two weeks the technical team here will go through the sequences to power-on the instrument and start collecting the first-look data. I will endeavor to send out an update on a daily basis, but no promises….
Yesterday, we powered on the Instrument Control and Data System (ICDS), the Aquarius on-board computer. Everything looks good so far.
Today we are executing commands to start the pre-deployment heaters, in preparation for the antenna deployment. This will be in two stages: the reflector (upper deployment mechanism, UDM) on Tuesday, followed by the boom (lower deployment mechanism, LDM) and Wednesday.
Here is the plan for the next several weeks. Things may change depending whether we encounter any issues. So far, things have been going smoothly yesterday and today. In a large part, this is a credit to how well organized and prepared our instrument engineering team is.
- Sun 14 Aug: ICDS power on - Complete
- Mon 15 Aug: Pre-deployment heaters power on - Complete
- Tue 16 Aug: Reflector deployment, between 1430 and 1500 Universal Time (UT)
- Wed 17 Aug: Boom deployment
- Thu 18 Aug: Radiometer digital processing unit (DPU) power on
- Fri 19 Aug: Active thermal control system (ATC) power on
- Sat 20 Aug: Software patches upload
- Sun 21 Aug: Radiometer RF on *** First Data
- 22 Aug – 27 Aug: Scatterometer turn on sequence (more details later)
- 28 Aug – 29 Aug: Mission mode & contingency day
- 30 Aug – 10 Sep: SACD instrument commissioning
- 11 Sep – 04 Oct: Final orbit adjustments
[14-Aug-11] The Aquarius Instrument Control and Data System (ICDS) turned on at 13:32 UTC, as expected, on August 14 over Svalbard (island halfway between Norway and the North Pole). Tomorrow, the Digital Processing Unit (DPU) will be turned on followed by the Op Heaters in preparation for the deployment. Deployment of the Aquarius reflector is scheduled for August 16th and boom on August 17th.
[13-Aug-11] Over the last few days the Aquarius team and the Flight Operations Team (FOT) completed planning and preparing for the Aquarius and FOT prerequisites required to begin Aquarius commissioning. Close out of the FOT-related prerequisites was successfully completed and the Aquarius Commissioning Readiness Review was held today. As a result, a "GO" was given to uplink commands to the spacecraft for turn-on of the Aquarius Instrument Control and Data System (ICDS) on Sunday August 14, 2011. Contingency passes have also been planned for this activity.
[10-Aug-11] Last week, the Flight Operations Team (FOT) focused their effort on initial orbit maneuvers. As of August 9th, the observatory is at the desired orbit. In Cordoba, Argentina, the Aquarius team established prerequisites prior to the start of Aquarius commissioning. There will be a final orbit maneuver after Aquarius and all SAC-D instruments are commissioned.
[11-Jul-2011] The SAC-D observatory is in the process of on-orbit checkout prior to turning on the instruments. The spacecraft is healthy and the telemetry looks good. Some delays have occurred with testing the attitude control system parameters. Turning on all of the Aquarius/SAC-D instruments is now likely to begin in mid-August and will take about one month.
[10-Jun-2011] 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.
[10-Jun-2011] NASA'S "AGE OF AQUARIUS" DAWNS WITH LAUNCH FROM CALIFORNIA
WASHINGTON -- NASA's 'Age of Aquarius' dawned Friday with the launch of an international satellite carrying the agency-built Aquarius instrument that will measure the saltiness of Earth's oceans to advance our understanding of the global water cycle and improve climate forecasts. more
[10-Jun-2011] Launch coverage will begin today at 5:30am PDT (8:30am EDT).
[10-Jun-2011] NASA's Launch Blog.
[10-Jun-2011] Status update.
[08-Jun-2011] PASADENA, Calif. -- The launch of the international Aquarius/SAC-D mission is postponed 24 hours until Friday, June 10, from NASA's Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The 5-minute launch window opens at 7:20 a.m. PDT (10:20 a.m. EDT) More
[30-May-2011] This week, a number of significant milestones were achieved at Vandenberg Air Force Base in preparation for launch. The final pre-launch electrical test of the Aquarius instrument was performed on 24-May. The test was successfully completed and all telemetry was nominal. On 27-May, the feed covers were removed from the instrument and a final contamination-control inspection was performed to confirm that the Aquarius instrument meets all of its cleanliness requirements; with these feed covers removed, Aquarius is configured for launch. On 28-May, the fairing was installed around the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory (see photos #15 and #16).
[20-May-2011] The canister containing the Aquarius/SAC-D Observatory is lifted to top of the launch tower at Space Launch Complex-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (see photos #10 through #14).
[18-May-11] The Launch Vehicle Adapter (LVA) has been attached and mated to the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF), which is launch-vehicle hardware. On Friday and Saturday, the Observatory bag was installed in preparation for transportation to the launch pad (see photos #5 through #7 prior to final bag close-out around the LVA). The ground-handling can was then installed onto the S/C and the canned S/C was transferred to the trailer (photos #8 and #9).
[29-Apr-11] Less than two months before launch, team members conduct their final checks of the Aquarius instrument at the Spaceport Systems International Integrated Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Subsequent final instrument tests will be conducted on the launch pad.
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[30-Mar-11] After overnight crew rest, the second C-17 flight with the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory left San Juan, Puerto Rico at 11:36AM local time on its way to the launch processing facility and launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California. The plane is expected to land today at VAFB around 4:30pm PDT.
[29-Mar-11] The US Air Force C-17 carrying the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory departed from Brazil today at 11:57AM local time. There will be about a 7-hour flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico for an overnight stop, then on to Vandenberg Air Force Base (Calif.) tomorrow.
[26-Mar-11]
- This morning the C-17 on-load began at about 8:20 am, and was completed at 10:10.
- The C-17 flight took off at 11:30 am local from Sao Jose, headed for San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- The flight landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 5:45 pm local.
- Loading of the second shipment onto the trucks was completed this afternoon.
- The container containing the Observatory has been loaded on the transport truck and remains secured inside the airlock at INPE-LIT.
- The team rests tomorrow (no work planned).
- Second flight expected to arrive at 10:30 pm local tomorrow (27 Mar).
- On-load for the 2nd flight is expected at 8:00 am on Monday (28 Mar), but this will be updated after the arrival of the second flight tomorrow evening (27 Mar).
[23-Mar-11] Palette loading of the Ground Support Equipment (GSE) has been completed. The GSE will leave Brazil on a C-17 on March 26th and arrive at Vandenberg Air Force Base (Calif.) on March 27th. In addition, the Aquarius/SAC-D Observatory has been lifted into its shipping container, destined for Vandenberg Air Force Base next week.
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Aquarius/SAC-D launch vehicle Photo: United Launch Alliance |
[15-Mar-11] The Aquarius/SAC-D Pre Ship Review was successfully completed at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research in early March 2011. Air transport of the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory from Brazil to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) is scheduled for Mar 26th and 29th. The first stage of the Delta II rocket that will carry NASA's Aquarius instrument into low Earth orbit has been raised onto its launch pad at VAFB Space Launch Complex-2. The nominal launch date for Aquarius/SAC-D is June 9th, 2011.
[19-Jan-11]Aquarius MLI activities and post-t-vac cleaning/inspection tasks have been successfully completed. All blankets planned for close-out at this time have been completed and inspected. All external MLI surfaces of the Observatory were cleaned, and white-light inspection showed no visible debris, thus meeting the VC-HS (visibly clean, highly sensitive) requirement. Molecular and particulate surface samples were collected after the cleaning/inspection for analysis.
[18-Jan-11] MLI activities continue: the reflector and sunshade blankets were completed. All thermal instrumentation has been removed as planned; the OMT test heaters will be grounded to the instrument. The flight grounding of all blankets has been installed and verified, with the exception of about a half-dozen blankets that will be closed out later.
[17-Jan-11] MLI activities continue: the +/-X spacecraft bipods and the structure have been completed, and the mechanical close-out of the sunshade was finalized. The reflector MLI and the OMT covers are in work today. View our incredible pit crew in action around the instrument here (close-up).
[16-Jan-11] The Aquarius team started on the MLI activities that will continue all week. Specifically, general cleaning and inspection are being done to address the fall-out observed after the thermal-vac test. The thermal instrumentation (thermocouples and test heaters) will be removed, MLI grounding is being verified, and final lacing and close-out of the MLI is being performed. The Upper Deployment Mechanism (UDM), Lower Deployment Mechanism (LDM), Launch Restraint bipod/tripod, the feeds and the -Z spacecraft bipod were completed. The activities are proceeding nominally.
[15-Jan-11] INVAP has completed the S/P closed-loop AOCS test and the ACE special test. They demated the cabling to the spacecraft and rotated it to the horizontal position. The Aquarius EGSE cables were demated. To recover the schedule, the Aquarius team will be performing the cleaning and starting blanket activities on January 16th.
[14-Jan-11] The Aquarius LPT was performed. All results were nominal.
[23-Nov-10] NASA provides more detail on the transfer of the Aquarius instrument and the Argentinian spacecraft that will carry it into space, the Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas (SAC-D), into the thermal vacuum chamber at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Laboratório de Integração e Testes – Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, or LIT-INPE) on Nov. 15.
[15-Nov-10] The Aquarius/SAC-D observatory has been moved into the thermal-vacuum chamber (6 meters by 8 meters) at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Laboratório de Integração e Testes - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, LIT-INPE). Over the course of a few days, ground support equipment will be hooked up and the chamber door will be closed in preparation for Aquarius/SAC-D thermal-vacuum tests.
[22-Oct-10] The Aquarius launch date has been updated to June 9, 2011. More details are available at http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html.
[02-Sep-10] During the external points measurement today, the covers were removed from the solar panels, giving a very good view of the Observatory.
[26-Aug-10] A good deploy on the first panel! Movie (mp4, 5.5 MB)
[25-Aug-10] The +X Solar Panel was successfully mounted on the SAC-D Service Platform yesterday on schedule. Deployment testing of this panel will take place today. Image 1 | Image 2
[28-Jun-10] The rest of the Ground Support Equipment for testing the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory landed safely at 12:40 pm local Brazilian time. The cargo was safely and successfully transferred to the integration and testing laboratory at INPE (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais). This marks the start of the Brazil Environmental Test Campaign for Aquarius/SAC-D.
[27-Jun-10] The satellite convey has successfully transferred the observatory to the INPE/LIT facility. A second C-17 flight with the remaining pallets and ground support equipment is scheduled to arrive in Sáo José dos Campos, Brazil at noon tomorrow.
[26-Jun-10] Over the past few days, the Aquarius/SAC-D Observatory was packed into its shipping container, moved from INVAP to the Bariloche airport, and then loaded onto a USAF C-17. The aircraft left Bariloche today and has now arrived in Sáo José dos Campos, Brazil. They are in the process of unloading the aircraft and transporting the Observatory to INPE/LIT.
[24-Jun-10] After months of integration and testing at the INVAP facility (Bariloche, Argentina), Aquarius/SAC-D has been boxed for shipment to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, INPE) Integration and Testing Lab, located in Sáo José dos Campos (near Sáo Paulo). At INPE, the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory will undergo its final environmental testing before being shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for an April 2011 launch date.
[15-Apr-10] We completed the thermal blanket patterns for the Aquarius bipod after routing the flight harness from the SAC-D Service Platform (S/P) to Aquarius (see photo, below left). A "fit check" of half the sunshade was completed to verify the clearance of the Aquarius ground lug as well as the blanket interface with the S/P top deck (see photo, below right). Engineers also verified the grounding resistance between the S/P top deck (near ground strap lug) to the Aquarius Instrument Connector Bracket (AICB), and it met the requirement with margin. The Aquarius Electrical Ground Support Equipment (all the non-flight test equipment we used to connect to Instrument to power and communicate) cables were installed and secured in preparation for Observatory functional testing next week.
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[13-Apr-10] On Monday, April 12, the installation of the Aquarius Instrument onto the SAC-D Service Platform (S/P) was successfully completed by the JPL and INVAP integration teams. The photos (below) show Pim Vosse directing the final stages of the lift, as well as an overall view of the Observatory (note that in this picture, the non-flight lift fixture is still in place on Aquarius). The Aquarius mechanical integration continues today, with the routing and mating of the flight harness to Aquarius, followed by thermal-blanket patterning on Wednesday.
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[26-Jan-10] All Aquarius electrical interfaces have successfully been connected to the SAC-D Service Platform (S/P). The S/P has now replaced the Aquarius Electrical Ground Support Equipment -- i.e., all the non-flight test equipment that was used to connect to Instrument to power and communicate -- for the operation of the instrument. Thus Aquarius is now receiving power and commands from the S/P and Aquarius telemetry and hi-rate data are being returned via the S/P. Telemetry and data files downlinked by the S/P match the files collected from an Aquarius direct-access test port, verifying the data flow from the instrument through the S/P. These successful tests represent significant milestones in the Aquarius Electrical Integration process.
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[20-Jan-10] On Wednesday, January 20, Dr. Cristina Fernández Kirchner, the President of Argentina, visited INVAP for the inauguration of the new facilities. The visit included a tour of the Hi Bay where the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite is being tested and integrated. La Presidenta was highly interested in the Aquarius/SAC-D mission, asked a number of questions, and was pleased with NASA's attendance at the event. Click here to learn more about INVAP. Read an article about Presidenta Cristina Fernández Kirchner's visit here (in Spanish).
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[01-Oct-09] International Science Teams Selected for Aquarius/SAC-D Mission. NASA and Argentina's Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), with support from the Argentine Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovative Production (MinCyT), have selected additional members of the international scientific investigating team for the Aquarius/Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D mission, scheduled to launch in 2010.
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[01-Jun-09] The Aquarius instrument is prepped for June 1st shipment to Argentina
[11-May-09] The 5th Aquarius/SAC-D Science Meeting will be held in Buenos Aires on 21-23 October 2009
[08-May-09] Air-ship of Aquarius instrument to Argentina is set for 01 June 2009
[01-Dec-08] The 4th Aquarius/SAC-D Science Workshop was held in Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina on 3-5 December 2008. Sessions addressed calibration and validation and explored a range of scientific studies and practical applications, such as the global hydrological cycle, ocean circulation, climate variability, oceanic CO2 flux, land processes, land use, soil moisture, natural hazards, cryosphere, operational forecasting, among many others. This conference was held in honor of the late Dr. F. Raul Colomb, Principal Investigator for the CONAE SAC-C and SAC-D Missions. (Click here to learn more)
[08-May-09] Aquarius "Pre-ship" review meeting
[06-May-09] Air-ship dry run with empty Aquarius instrument shipping container on USAF C17 (see image)
[May 2009] Pre-ship electrical testing of Aquarius instrument after the "Random Vibe Test" at JPL (see image)
[Apr 2009] Aquarius instrument undergoes "Random Vibe Test" at JPL (see image)
[Feb 2009] Aquarius Instrument Thermal Vacuum (TVAC-2) & First Motion Test at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (see image)
[Jan 2009] Aquarius Instrument Acoustics Testing at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (see image)
[Dec 2008] Aquarius Instrument Vibration Testing at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (see image)
[11-Dec-08] Aquarius Principal Investigator Dr. Gary Lagerloef convened an American Geophysical Union Special Session Special Joint Session: "Climatic Variability in the Marine Freshwater Cycle"
[01-Dec-08] The 4th Aquarius/SAC-D Science Workshop was held in Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina on 3-5 December 2008. Sessions addressed calibration and validation and explored a range of scientific studies and practical applications, such as the global hydrological cycle, ocean circulation, climate variability, oceanic CO2 flux, land processes, land use, soil moisture, natural hazards, cryosphere, operational forecasting, among many others. This conference was held in honor of the late Dr. F. Raul Colomb, Principal Investigator for the CONAE SAC-C and SAC-D Missions. (Click here to learn more)
[Nov 2008] Aquarius Boom & Reflector Integration at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (see image)
[24-Jul-08] Aquarius/SAC-D Observatory passed its Mission Critical Design Review, held 21-24 July 2008 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
[Jun 2008] Dr. Sandra Torrusio has been named the new SAC-D Principal Investigator. Dr. Torrusio has specialized in remote sensing applications to natural resources and disaster management since 1989. She is the author of over 40 publications and presentations in national and international meetings, and a participant in international courses. Dr. Torrusio received her Ph.D. in Natural Sciences at the National University of La Plata in 2003.
[15-Feb-08] NASA's Research Announcement for the Ocean Salinity Science Team has been released. The objective of this program element is to select a new U.S. Ocean Salinity Science Team to support and participate in the U.S./CONAE Aquarius/SAC-D mission and joint Aquarius/SAC-D Science Team. Solicitation closes on 30-Oct-08. (Click here to learn more)
[Jan 2008] After a four-year development effort, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has delivered the Aquarius Radiometer to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The Radiometer, built by an in-house team of scientists, engineers, and technicians at GSFC is part of the international Aquarius/SAC-D mission. The Radiometer will be integrated with the Aquarius instrument at JPL. (Click here to learn more)
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