A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex-2 carrying the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory for NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina. NASA's Aquarius, the primary instrument on the SAC-D observatory, will provide unprecedented global maps of ocean surface salinity to better understand the lin
A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base’s Space Launch Complex-2 carrying the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory for NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina. NASA’s Aquarius, the primary instrument on the SAC-D observatory, will provide unprecedented global maps of ocean surface salinity to better understand the links between ocean circulation, the global cycling of freshwater and climate. Image credit: William G. Hartenstein/United Launch Alliance June 10, 2011