Salt-Seeking Spacecraft Arrives at Launch Site; NASA Instrument Will Measure Ocean Surface Salinity.

Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

PASADENA, Calif., April 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- An international spacecraft that will take NASA's first space-based measurements of ocean surface salinity has arrived at its launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Aquarius/SAC-D mission will provide scientists with a key missing variable in satellite observations of Earth that links ocean circulation, the global balance of freshwater and climate.

The Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft left Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, on March 29. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be attached to a Delta II rocket for a June 9 launch.

The mission is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space …