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Build Commences on GRACE-FO Satellites

NASA’s twin satellites, under construction by Airbus Defense and Space, will be the follow-on spacecraft of the GRACE mission, which have contributed significantly to global climate research since 2002.

Work begins to build NASA’s twin satellites, under construction by Airbus Defense and Space.

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Airbus Defense and Space

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Illustration of GRACE-FO above Antarctica.
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Illustration of GRACE-FO above Antarctica.
GRACE-FO Above Antarctica
3-2-1 liftoff of Falcon 9 with GRACE-FO! The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on, or GRACE-FO, a collaboration between NASA and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) launched f...
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GRACE-FO launches aboard a Falcon 9.
GRACE-FO Launches Aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9
This visualization displays monthly GRACE data in the Amazon basin, demonstrating water storage and movement. 
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This visualization displays monthly GRACE data in the Amazon basin. GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) measures mass distribution and in this instance is used to demonstrate water storage and movement in the basin.
Amazon Basin Monthly GRACE Data
Visualization of the mass change over Greenland from January 2004 through June 2014. 
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Mass changes in Greenland.
GRACE Mission Measures Global Ice Mass Changes
Illustration of GRACE-FO separating from Falcon 9 rocket after launch.
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Illustration of GRACE-FO separating from Falcon 9 rocket after launch.
GRACE-FO Separating from Rocket After Launch
The twin GRACE-FO satellites will pick up where the GRACE mission (2002-2017) left off, studying our changing planet.
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Video reel for media on the GRACE-FO mission to study Earth.
GRACE Follow-On Media Reel
The Laser Ranging Interferometer instrument.
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The Laser Ranging Interferometer instrument.
Laser Ranging Interferometer
GRACE-Follow On (GRACE-FO) is a satellite mission that launched in May 2018. GRACE-FO will continue the work of the GRACE satellite mission tracking Earth's water movement around the globe. These d...
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Video for the GRACE-FO mission.
Tracking Water from Space
GRACE Rendering  
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GRACE Rendering
GRACE Rendering
A simplified example of how the distance between the GRACE-FO satellites changes as they pass from the Caribbean Sea across Colombia and Peru.
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A simplified example of how the distance between the GRACE-FO satellites changes as they pass from the Caribbean Sea across Colombia and Peru (which have higher mass than the oceans) to the Pacific Ocean. Panel 1: When both spacecraft are over the ocean, the distance between them is relatively constant.
How GRACE-FO Measures Gravity
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 3).
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Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit over Earth.
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 3)
A GRACE-FO satellite and its turntable fixture at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
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A GRACE-FO satellite and its turntable fixture at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
GRACE-FO Satellite on a Turntable Before Launch
An animation showing “sea level fingerprints,” or patterns of rising and falling sea levels across the globe in response to changes in Earth’s gravitational and rotational fields. 
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An animation showing “sea level fingerprints,” or patterns of rising and falling sea levels across the globe in response to changes in Earth’s gravitational and rotational fields.
Cumulative Sea Level Change 2002-2015
GRACE-FO in a protective shipping container arriving at a new facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.  
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GRACE-FO in a protective shipping container arriving at a new facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
GRACE-FO Arrives at Vandenberg
Monthly changes in ocean bottom pressure data obtained by the GRACE satellites from November 2002 to January 2012. 
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Monthly changes in ocean bottom pressure data obtained by the GRACE satellites from November 2002 to January 2012.
Ocean Bottom Pressure 2002-2012
While the two spacecraft of the GRACE-FO mission go through testing at the IABG facitilty in Germany, engineers deploy the S-Band antenna boom to ensure that it works.
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While the two spacecraft of the GRACE-FO mission go through testing at the IABG facitilty in Germany, engineers deploy the S-Band antenna boom to ensure that it works.
Airbus Tests GRACE-FO Antenna Boom
The GRACE mission launched in 2002, changing our understanding of Earth.
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The GRACE mission launched in 2002, changing our understanding of Earth.
15 Years of GRACE
A 3D interactive model of NASA's GRACE-FO spacecraft.
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A 3D model of NASA's GRACE-FO spacecraft.
GRACE-FO 3D Model
The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The photo shows one of the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 3). 
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The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The photo shows one of the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 3).
GRACE-FO Satellites in Testing
For 15 years, the GRACE mission has unlocked mysteries of how water moves around our planet. It gave us the first view of underground aquifers from space, and shows how fast polar ice sheets and mo...
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For 15 years, the GRACE mission has unlocked mysteries of how water moves around our planet. It gave us the first view of underground aquifers from space, and shows how fast polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers are melting.
15 Years of GRACE Earth Observations
GRACE Follow-On continues the critical mission of measuring the movements of mass within and between Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land and ice sheets, as well as below Earth’s surface.
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GRACE Follow-On, scheduled to launch in spring 2018, will continue the critical mission of measuring the movements of mass within and between Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land and ice sheets, as well as below Earth’s surface.
GRACE-FO Fact Sheet
The twin satellites of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on, or GRACE-FO, will track the movement of water around Earth. This short video explains how and why it's important.
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Explaining why GRACE-FO is so important.
Why Is GRACE-FO So Important?
The GRACE-FO satellites, attached to turntable fixtures, at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (view 1).  
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The GRACE-FO satellites, attached to turntable fixtures, at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
GRACE-FO Satellites, Attached to Turntable Fixtures
An artist's rendering of the twin GRACE-FO spacecraft.
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An artist's rendering of the twin GRACE-FO spacecraft in orbit around Earth.
GRACE-FO Rendering
NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) has measured significant groundwater depletion around the world in recent years. 
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GRACE data over the United States, 2003-2012
GRACE Sees Groundwater Losses Around the World

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