A: Terra is a NASA-operated Earth observation satellite specifically described as a climate research satellite. It was built and is operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Q: When and how was Terra launched?

A: Terra was launched on 1999-12-18 from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3. The launch vehicle was an Atlas II and the launch contractor was International Launch Services.

Q: What orbit does Terra operate in?

A: Terra operates in low Earth orbit with a semi-major axis of 7,080 km, periapsis ~708.6 km, apoapsis ~710.6 km, an orbital inclination of 98.2098°, and an orbital period of 98.8 minutes.

Q: How heavy is Terra and who made it?

A: Terra had a launch (takeoff) mass of 4,864 kg and was manufactured by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Terra

NASA climate research satellite

Vehicle Earth Observation Satellite Q584697

Facts

27 properties

Instance of: Earth observation satellite, artificial satellite of the Earth^[2]
Official website: terra.nasa.gov^[9]
Website: terra.nasa.gov
Launch date: 1999-12-18
Aerial view: commons.wikimedia.org
Apoapsis: 710.6 km^[18]
Argument of periapsis: 83.7699°^[20]
Launch contractor: International Launch Services^[10]
Launch vehicle: Atlas II
Longitude of ascending node: 251.3130°^[16]
Manufacturer: National Aeronautics and Space Administration^[4]
Mass: 4,864 kg^[14]
Mean anomaly: 276.3654°
Operator: National Aeronautics and Space Administration^[3]
Orbital eccentricity: 0.0001392^[11]
Orbital inclination: 98.2098°^[13]
Orbital period: 98.8 min^[15]
Periapsis: 708.6 km^[19]
Satellite of: low Earth orbit
Semi major axis of an orbit: 7,080
Semi-major axis of an orbit: 7,080 km^[17]
Significant event: rocket launch (1999)^[8]
Space launch vehicle: Atlas II^[5]
Start point: Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3^[12]

Show all 27 facts +3

Store id google play: Terra
Type of orbit: low Earth orbit^[6]
UTC date of spacecraft launch: December 18, 1999^[7]

🏷️ Also known as

en EOS AM-1 en Terra ar تيرا de EOS AM-1 fa ترا he טרה ja テラ ko 테라 위성 pl EOS AM-1 ru Терра tr Terra (uydu) uk Терра (супутник) zh Terra卫星 zh Terra彗星 zh Terra衛星 zh 妥拉衛星 zh 特拉衛星

🔖 Identifiers · 7

COSPAR ID: 1999-068A
Freebase ID: /m/02dgfw
Great Norwegian Encyclopedia ID: Terra
NAIF ID: -142
NSSDCA ID: 1999-068A
SCN: 25994
Wolfram Language entity code: Entity["Satellite", "25994"]

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🔗 Connections

Has these parts 3

Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere, Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer

Instance of 2

Earth observation satellite, artificial satellite of the Earth

Launch contractor 1

International Launch Services

Manufacturer 1

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Operator 1

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Significant event 1

rocket launch

Space launch vehicle 1

Atlas II

Start point 1

Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3

Type of orbit 1

low Earth orbit

← FactGrid item ID 1

Szorce

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Summary

Terra is an Earth observation satellite^[1].

References

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

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Terra — instance of (P31): artificial satellite of the Earth. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Terra — operator (P137): National Aeronautics and Space Administration. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Terra — manufacturer (P176): National Aeronautics and Space Administration. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Terra — space launch vehicle (P375): Atlas II. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Terra — type of orbit (P522): low Earth orbit. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Terra — UTC date of spacecraft launch (P619): December 18, 1999. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Terra — significant event (P793): rocket launch. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Terra — official website (P856): https://terra.nasa.gov/. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Terra — launch contractor (P1079): International Launch Services. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Terra — orbital eccentricity (P1096): {'amount': '+0.0001392'}. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Terra — start point (P1427): Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Terra — orbital inclination (P2045): 98.2098 degree. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Terra — mass (P2067): 4864 kg. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Terra — orbital period (P2146): 98.8 minutes. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Terra — longitude of ascending node (P2213): 251.3130 degree. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Terra — semi-major axis of an orbit (P2233): 7080 km. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Terra — apoapsis (P2243): 710.6 km. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ Terra — periapsis (P2244): 708.6 km. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ Terra — argument of periapsis (P2248): 83.7699 degree. wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

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

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APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Terra. Retrieved November 11, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/terra-q584697

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BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_terra-q584697_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Terra}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/terra-q584697}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-11}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Terra — https://4ort.xyz/entity/terra-q584697 (retrieved 2026-11-11)

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