SAC-D
SAC -D ( Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas ) is an Argentine Earth observation satellite.
He started June 10, 2011 at 14:20 UTC clock with a Delta II 7320-10 from Vandenberg Air Force Base into a 657 km high Sun-synchronous orbit. The main board instrument is a microwave radiometer (L- band ) called Aquarius, which was developed by specialists of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt (Maryland). It is designed to measure the salinity at the surface of the oceans, and thus provide information that will improve understanding of the influence of the oceans on the global water cycle. The life of five years (three years for the instrument Aquarius ) are planned.