Q: When was the Aqua satellite launched?

A: Aqua was launched on May 4, 2002, at 09:54:58 UTC from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 2 West aboard a Delta II rocket.

Q: What is the primary mission of Aqua?

A: Aqua’s mission is to collect data on Earth’s water cycle, including atmospheric humidity, ocean temperatures, and ice coverage, to improve understanding of climate and weather systems.

Q: What instruments does Aqua carry?

A: Aqua carries several advanced instruments, including the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observations (AMSR-E), designed to observe global sea surface temperature, soil moisture, and atmospheric conditions.

Aqua

NASA Earth observation satellite

Vehicle Earth Observation Satellite Q17397

Aqua — National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) · Public Domain · Wikimedia

Facts

31 properties

Instance of: Earth observation satellite
Country: United States^[2]
Official website: aqua.nasa.gov^[11]
Website: aqua.nasa.gov
Launch date: 2002-05-04
Part of: A-Train^[5]
3d model: commons.wikimedia.org
Apoapsis: 703 km
Argument of periapsis: 120.4799°
Carries scientific instrument: AMSR-E^[14]
Launch contractor: Boeing^[12]
Launch vehicle: Delta II
Longitude of ascending node: 92.2063°
Manufacturer: TRW Inc.^[4]
Mass: 3,117 kg^[17]
Mean anomaly: 351.4268°
Nominal power output: 4,444 W^[18]
Operator: National Aeronautics and Space Administration^[3]
Orbital eccentricity: 0.0000979^[13]
Orbital inclination: 98.1987°^[16]
Orbital period: 99 min
Parent astronomical body: Earth^[7]
Periapsis: 702 km
Semi major axis of an orbit: 7,080

Show all 31 facts +7

Semi-major axis of an orbit: 7,080 km
Significant event: rocket launch (2002)^[10]
Space launch vehicle: Delta II^[6]
Spacecraft bus: T330^[9]
Start point: Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 2 West^[15]
Store id google play: Aqua
UTC date of spacecraft launch: May 4, 2002^[8]

🏷️ Also known as

en EOS PM-1 en Aqua en Aqua (satellite) en Aqua (satellite)) en Aqua satellite en EOS-Aqua ar أكوا fa آکوا (ماهواره) it EOS PM-1 ja アクア tr Aqua (uydu) zh Aqua卫星 zh Aqua衛星 zh 水 (人造衛星) zh 海洋觀測衛星 zh 阿卡卫星 zh-hans Aqua卫星 zh-hant 阿卡衛星

🔖 Identifiers · 7

COSPAR ID: 2002-022A
Freebase ID: /m/03fhfg
Great Norwegian Encyclopedia ID: Aqua
NAIF ID: -154
NSSDCA ID: 2002-022A
SCN: 27424
Wolfram Language entity code: Entity["Satellite", "27424"]

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Belongs to 1

A-Train

Country 1

United States

Has these parts 1

Atmospheric Infrared Sounder

Instance of 1

Earth observation satellite

Launch contractor 1

Boeing

Manufacturer 1

TRW Inc.

Operator 1

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Parent astronomical body 1

Earth

Part of 1

A-Train

Significant event 1

rocket launch

Space launch vehicle 1

Delta II

Spacecraft bus 1

T330

← Child astronomical body 1

Earth

← Used by 1

T330

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

Aqua is an Earth observation satellite^[1].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Aqua — country (P17): United States. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Aqua — operator (P137): National Aeronautics and Space Administration. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Aqua — manufacturer (P176): TRW Inc.. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Aqua — part of (P361): A-Train. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Aqua — space launch vehicle (P375): Delta II. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Aqua — parent astronomical body (P397): Earth. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Aqua — UTC date of spacecraft launch (P619): May 4, 2002. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Aqua — spacecraft bus (P707): T330. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Aqua — significant event (P793): rocket launch. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Aqua — official website (P856): https://aqua.nasa.gov/. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Aqua — launch contractor (P1079): Boeing. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Aqua — orbital eccentricity (P1096): {'amount': '+0.0000979'}. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Aqua — carries scientific instrument (P1202): AMSR-E. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Aqua — start point (P1427): Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 2 West. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Aqua — orbital inclination (P2045): 98.1987 degree. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Aqua — mass (P2067): 3117 kg. nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Aqua — nominal power output (P2109): 4444 watt. wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

[1] ↑ Aqua is an instance of Earth observation satellite (Q854845) [P31, primary]. Wikidata. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Aqua. Retrieved November 11, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/aqua-q17397

MLA “Aqua.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 11 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/aqua-q17397.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_aqua-q17397_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Aqua}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/aqua-q17397}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-11}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Aqua — https://4ort.xyz/entity/aqua-q17397 (retrieved 2026-11-11)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/aqua-q17397 · Last refreshed: November 11, 2026