BERLIN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Two German-American measurement satellites were successfully launched into space on Tuesday night.
Josef Zens of the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) confirmed via Twitter the news of the launch, which was collaboration between the GFZ and the U.S. government space agency NASA.
The "Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment" and "Follow On" (Grace-Fo) duo of satellites are designed to conduct measurements of Earth.
The satellites were constructed by the European aviation company Airbus and delivered to space on a Falcon 9 rocket belonging to the U.S. company SpaceX. The five-year mission comes with a total price tag of 440 million euros (516 million U.S. dollars), of which Germany is to contribute 78 million euros.
The new generation of satellites will replace an earlier "Grace-Fo" mission between 2002 and 2017.
The approximately three-meter-long satellites will orbit the Earth from 220 km away to produce more reliable data about the surface below them.
Whereas the previous project relied on microwave technology to conduct measurements, the new "Grace-Fo" satellites have been fitted with state-of-the-art laser technology. As such, the German-U.S. researchers hope to obtain more precise insight into developments on the surface of the Earth such as a loss of ice cover due to climate change, or the loss of ground water.
Additionally, the "Grace-Fo" satellites are intended to produce a monthly map of the Earth's gravitational field to produce information about changes in ocean water levels. The data compiled by the collaborative mission will be passed on to 5,000 parties who have registered their interests, including hydrologists and oceanographers.
