Terra satellite
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Terra (EOS AM-1)
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| Mission type | Climate research |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1999-068A |
| SATCAT no. | 25994 |
| Website | terra |
| Mission duration | Elapsed: 17 years, 5 months, 7 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | NASA |
| Launch mass | 4,864 kilograms (10,723 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | December 18, 1999, 18:57:39 UTC |
| Rocket | Atlas IIAS AC-141 |
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-3E |
| Contractor | ILS |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Semi-major axis | 7,080.0 kilometers (4,399.3 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0001392 |
| Perigee | 708.7 kilometers (440.4 mi) |
| Apogee | 710.6 kilometers (441.5 mi) |
| Inclination | 98.2098° |
| Period | 98.8 minutes |
| RAAN | 251.3130 degrees |
| Argument of perigee | 83.7699 degrees |
| Mean anomaly | 276.3654 degrees |
| Mean motion | 14.57110250 |
| Epoch | 25 June 2016, 02:58:27 UTC |
| Revolution no. | 87867 |
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Terra (EOS AM-1) is a multi-national NASA scientific research satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit around the Earth. It is the flagship of the Earth Observing System (EOS). The name "Terra" comes from the Latin word for Earth.
The satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on December 18, 1999, aboard an Atlas IIAS vehicle and began collecting data on February 24, 2000. It was placed into a near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 705km, with a 10:30am descending node.
Terra carries a payload of five remote sensors designed to monitor the state of Earth's environment and ongoing changes in its climate system:
Data from the satellite helps scientists better understand the spread of pollution around the globe. Studies have used instruments on Terra to examine trends in global carbon monoxide and aerosol pollution. The data collected by Terra will ultimately become a new, 15-year global data set.
In June and October 2008 the spacecraft was targeted by hackers who gained unauthorized access to its command and control systems but did not issue any commands.
The first image taken by Terra.
The Solar eclipse of August 1, 2008, over Russia, Norway, and the Arctic Ocean as seen from NASA's Terra satellite.
The effects of the European winter storms of 2009–2010 on Great Britain, seen from Terra.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill oil slick as seen from space by NASA's Terra satellite on May 1, 2010.
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