Eurockot Launch ServicesRokot/Briz-KM133/3 (133L), Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
GRACE
Launched
March 17, 2002
Image: ESA/Stephane Corvaja
Summary
GRACE launched on an Eurockot Launch Services Rokot/Briz-KM from 133/3 (133L), Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation on March 17, 2002. It was Eurockot Launch Services's 2nd launch, 1st this year and humanity's 4,523rd orbital launch attempt. It was the 2nd Rokot/Briz-KM flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). GRACE 1, one of 3 catalogued objects, reached a 492 × 513 km orbit inclined 89.0°. 3 objects from this launch are catalogued, 2 of them payloads.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Rokot/Briz-KM · Eurockot Launch Services
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Earth Science · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 2nd Rokot/Briz-KM flight · 1st this yearEurockot Launch Services's 2nd launch1st this yearhumanity's 4,523rd orbital launch attempt12th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
GRACE 1 · NORAD 27391 · 2002-012 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 3 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- GRACE 1
- Object ID
- 2002-012A
- Epoch
- 2002-03-17 10:40:45 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.23485803 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0015223
- Inclination
- 89.0129°
- Ascending node
- 354.4329°
- Arg. of perigee
- 264.9507°
- Mean anomaly
- 95.0002°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: LEO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
3 catalogued: 2 payloads, 1 rocket stage; none still in orbit
- GRACE 1 · NORAD 27391 · re-entered March 10, 2018
- GRACE 2 · NORAD 27392 · re-entered December 24, 2017
Briz-KM No. 72505 · re-entered March 27, 2002
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) was a joint mission of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Twin satellites took detailed measurements of Earth's gravity field anomalies from its launch in March 2002 to the end of its science mission in October 2017.
Pad
133/3 (133L), Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
130th launch from 133/3 (133L), 1st this year · 1,519th from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
159 launches from this pad · 1,688 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
670 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian FederationOpen in maps
Questions
When did GRACE launch?
GRACE launched on March 17, 2002. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch GRACE?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched GRACE?
Rokot/Briz-KM, flown by Eurockot Launch Services. Rokot/Briz-KM spec sheet
Where did GRACE launch from?
133/3 (133L), Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation.
What orbit did GRACE reach?
GRACE 1, one of 3 catalogued objects, reached a 492 × 513 km orbit inclined 89.0°.
How many satellites did GRACE launch?
2 payloads from this launch are catalogued, none of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).