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The name " Aqua" comes from the Latin word for water. The satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force BaseVandenberg Air Force Base is a base with a spaceport, located in Santa Barbara County, California. As of the 2000 census, the base had a total population of 6,151. The base was originally established in 1941 as the US Army's Camp Cooke. The facility serve on May 4May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). There are 241 days remaining. Events 1471 Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales. 1493 Pope Ale, 20022002 is a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). 2002 was the first palindromic year since 1991 and the last until 2112. 2002 was also designated: International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains National Science Year in the United Kingdom aboard a BoeingThe Boeing Company ( NYSE:BA) is a leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with its largest production facilities near Seattle, Washington. It is also a defense contractor. It is listed on the New York Sto Delta II rocketThe Boeing IDS Delta II family of launch vehicles has been in service since 1989 and has successfully launched 115 projects (through August, 2004) including the last six NASA missions to Mars: Mars Global Surveyor in 1996 Mars Pathfinder in 1996 Mars Clim.
Aqua carries 6 instruments for studies of water on the earth's surface and in the atmosphereEarth's atmosphere is the layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's gravity. It consists of nitrogen (78. 1% by volume) and oxygen (20. 9%), with small amounts of argon (0. 9%), carbon dioxide (variable, but around 0. 035%),:
The Aura spacecraft has a mass of about 1,750 kg. The body is 6.5 m long with the extended single solar panel about 15 m.