Processing Facility technicians begin to rotate the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft into a vertical position for testing.

In Space Systems International's Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians begin to rotate the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft into a vertical position for testing.

Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to fundamental climate processes on its three-year mission. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Liberotti, VAFB