Aqua

Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO)

Files

Click here to download the trajectory.
Click here to download the run options file.

Description

Aqua is part of NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS), a group of satellites that observe the Earth’s surface and biosphere. These satellites are in Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). Their orbits are nearly polar and are constructed such that each orbit precesses once per year, allowing the satellites to observe the Earth’s surface at a consistent illumination angle. This means that the orbit tends to preserve a similar orientation within a Sun-centered ecliptic frame.

SSO is a category of low Earth orbit (LEO), and thus the meteoroid environment encountered by Aqua will be similar in magnitude to that of the ISS. However, the apparent directionality will differ due to the large difference in orbital inclination between these spacecraft and, more importantly, to the fact that Aqua maintains a similar orbital orientation relative to the sporadic meteoroid sources while the ISS does not.