The rocket faring is lifted up the launch tower for mating with the
Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS rocket after encapsulation of Terra,
formerly EOS AM-1. It is scheduled for launch Dec. 16 from Space
Launch Complex 3 East at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Terra comprises five
state-of-the-art sets of instruments that will collect data for
continuous, long-term records of the state of Earth's land, oceans and
atmosphere. Together with data from other satellite systems launched
by NASA and other countries, it will inaugurate a new self-consistent
data record that will be gathered over the next 15 years. From an
altitude of 438 miles, Terra will circle the Earth 16 times a day from
pole to pole (98 degree inclination), crossing the equator at 10:30
a.m. The five Terra instruments will operate by measuring sunlight
reflected by the Earth and heat emitted by the Earth.
KSC-99PP-1416 - Raw ASCII Text Caption file
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Terra KSC Photo Index
