![The first-stage booster falls away following the Falcon 9 rocket launch Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base.](https://i0.wp.com/www.noozhawk.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/052824-SpaceX-EarthCARE1-cont-2000.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
An international satellite that scientists hope will unravel the mysteries of Earth’s clouds and aerosols arrived in orbit Tuesday following a successful ride aboard a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The SpaceX rocket lifted off at 3:20 p.m. from Space Launch Complex-4 on South Base, with the first-stage booster returning less than eight minutes later to land at the base.
Following the rumble as Falcon climbed away from Vandenberg through a stubborn marine layer that hampered some spectators’ views, the first-stage booster’s return rattled windows as it returned to Central Coast.
Falcon carried the Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer, or EarthCARE, a joint mission involving the European Space Agency and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency or JAXA.
The spacecraft will collect an assortment of measurements officials hope will spell out the role clouds and aerosols play in regulating the planet’s climate.
EarthCARE is equipped with four state-of-the-art instruments to gather data.
“Aerosols and clouds are rapidly changing in time and in location. That’s why — and that’s a crucial aspect of EarthCARE — it’s very important to observe them all together at the same location at the same time,” said Dirk Bernaerts, EarthCARE program manager for ESA.
The data could lead to improved weather forecasts and climate models, officials said.
![EarthCARE floats away from the Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday afternoon following a successful launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base.](https://i0.wp.com/www.noozhawk.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/052824-SpaceX-EarthCARE2-cont-2000.jpg?resize=780%2C519&ssl=1)
EarthCARE is the latest Earth mission to study the planet, and the most complex of the series, Bernaerts said.
“It’s a symbol of collaboration — instruments are collaborating, organizations are collaborating, teams are collaborating and it’s thanks to this collaboration that we can do these unique science observations,” Bernaerts said.
At the request of JAXA, the satellite will be nicknamed Hakuryu, or White Dragon.
The spacecraft’s unique shape also appears similar to a dragon, with its white body and solar panel resembling a long tail. Additionally, the launch occurred during the Japanese Year of the Dragon.
“In Japanese mythology, dragons are ancient and divine creatures that govern water and fly in the sky: an appropriate metaphor for a mission that will study clouds and aerosols,” ESA officials said.
After the launch, ground controllers were awaiting the first post-launch milestones, including acquisition of signals from the satellite.
EarthCARE is expected to begin delivering data at the end of 2024 or early 2025.
This was the 18th Falcon 9 launch of 2024 from Vandenberg.