Aquarius was a NASA instrument aboard the Argentine SAC-D spacecraft. Its mission was to measure global sea surface salinity to better predict future climate conditions. Aquarius was shipped to Argentina on June 1, 2009 to be mounted in the INVAP built SAC-D satellite. It came back to Vandenberg Air Force Base on March 31, 2011. The observatory was successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on June 10, 2011. After its launch aboard a Delta II from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, SAC-D was carried into a 657 km (408 mi) sun-synchronous orbit to begin its 3-year mission.