GRACE-FO
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NASA's new climate science satellites switch on their lasers
NASA's new climate-monitoring satellites, which SpaceX ferried to orbit in May, are almost ready to keep an eye on our planet's ice sheets, atmosphere and ocean levels. On June 13th, the twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) satellites switched on their lasers in search of one another for the first time. Those lasers will keep the satellites connected to each other while they orbit the Earth, tracking the changes in distance between them brought about by variations in our planet's gravitational field. That data, in turn, will help scientists better understand and monitor the thinning of the ice sheets, rising sea levels and even the flow of magma underground.
Today’s SpaceX launch will help NASA monitor climate change
Today, SpaceX is scheduled to launch a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Liftoff is currently scheduled for 3:47 PM ET (12:47 PM PT). The payload includes five Iridum NEXT communication satellites and a pair of Earth-observing satellites called GRACE-FO; you can watch liftoff below.
