launched from Russia

GRACE 1-2

Success
MAR 17200209:21:00 UTC

GRACE was a pair of identical satellites flown by NASA and Germany's DLR to map Earth's gravity field. The two spacecraft chased each other around the same orbit about 220 km apart, and tiny changes in their separation, tracked by a microwave link, revealed shifts in the planet's mass distribution. The mission tracked groundwater, ice sheets and ocean currents for more than fifteen years.

launched from Pad 133/3 Plesetsk

aboard Rokot Briz-KM into SSO

Payloads · 2

  • 01

    GRACE 1

    Gravity research

  • 02

    GRACE 2

    Gravity research

last updated May 29, 2026