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GRACE-FO Launches Aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9

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 from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California's Central Coast on May 22, 2018. The twin orbiters shared a ride to space with five Iridium NEXT communications satellites. GRACE-FO will continue a study begun by the original GRACE mission, which proved that water movement can be tracked with high precision by its effect on Earth's gravitational field. GRACE-FO will continue the record of regional variations in gravity, telling us about changes in glaciers, ground water, sea levels and the health of our planet as a whole. For more, visit https://gracefo.jpl.nasa.gov .

Credit

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 4)
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Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit
Illustration of GRACE-FO (View 4)
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
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
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen with the NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft onboard at Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 
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The SpaceX Falcon 9 that will carry GRACE-FO to orbit sits on the launchpad.
GRACE-FO in Falcon 9 on Launchpad
Flames from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching GRACE-FO into orbit.
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A close-up of the flames from the rocket launching GRACE-FO.
Rocket Flames
The NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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The rocket carrying GRACE-FO blasts off from the launch pad.
GRACE-FO Launches, Wide Shot
Research based on GRACE observations indicates that between 2002 and 2016, Greenland shed approximately 280 gigatons of ice per year.
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Mass of the Greenland ice sheet has rapidly declined in the last several years. Research based on observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites indicates that between 2002 and 2016, Greenland shed approximately 280 gigatons of ice per year.
Greenland Ice Loss 2002-2016
GRACE Follow-On will test a Laser Ranging Interferometer to measure intersatellite distance changes with unprecedented precision. 
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GRACE Follow-On – the future of satellite geodesy. Launching in 2017, this mission will be the first to use a Laser Ranging Interferometer to measure intersatellite distance changes with unprecedented precision.
Laser Ranging Interferometer
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
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
The GRACE-FO satellites, attached to turntable fixtures, at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. 
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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 (view 2).
GRACE-FO Satellites at Vandenberg
GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) continues the legacy of GRACE, tracking Earth’s water movement and surface mass changes across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, near-surface and...
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GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) continues the legacy of GRACE, tracking Earth’s water movement and surface mass changes across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, near-surface and underground water storage, the amount of water in large lakes and rivers, as well as changes in sea level and ocean currents provides an integrated global view of how Earth’s water cycle and energy balance are evolving.
GRACE-FO Mission Brochure
The rocket carrying GRACE-FO lifts off into a blue sky, with the Pacific Ocean beneath it.
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The rocket carrying GRACE-FO lifts off into a blue sky, with the Pacific Ocean beneath it.
GRACE-FO Launch, Sky and Sea
The NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft launches onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9,  May 22, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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The rocket carrying GRACE-FO blasts off from the launch pad, with the ocean in the foreground.
GRACE-FO Launches, Ocean View
The two GRACE-FO satellites are seen from GFZ’s Satellite Laser Ranging Station in Potsdam, Germany, on May 23, 2018 at 22:16 UTC and 22:17 UTC, respectively.
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The bright lights of the spacecraft are seen against the dark black of space.
GRACE-FO Satellites From Potsdam
The GRACE-FO satellites are nearly identical. The Microwave Interferometer (MWI) will measure the minute variations in distance between the spacecraft.
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The GRACE-FO satellites are nearly identical. The Microwave Interferometer (MWI) will measure the minute variations in distance between the spacecraft.
GRACE-FO Instruments
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Antarctica.
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Illustration of GRACE-FO above Antarctica.
GRACE-FO Above Antarctica
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Alaska.
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Illustration of one spacecraft of GRACE-FO above Alaska, with clouds, ocean and land below.
Illustration of GRACE-FO Above Alaska
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
Between 2002 and 2016, Antarctica shed approximately 125 gigatons of ice per year, causing global sea level to rise by 0.35 millimeters per year.
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Between 2002 and 2016, Antarctica shed approximately 125 gigatons of ice per year, causing global sea level to rise by 0.35 millimeters per year.
Antarctic Ice Loss 2002-2016
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 2). 
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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 2).
GRACE-FO Satellites During Testing (View 2)
A map of groundwater storage trends for Earth's 37 largest aquifers using GRACE data, showing depletion and replenishment in millimeters of water per year. 
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A map of groundwater storage trends for Earth's 37 largest aquifers using GRACE data, showing depletion and replenishment in millimeters of water per year.
Map of Groundwater Storage Trends for Earth's 37 Largest Aquifers
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
The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The photo shows the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 1).
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The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany.
GRACE-FO Satellites During Testing
GRACE Rendering  
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GRACE Rendering
GRACE Rendering

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