February 6, 2015: The Critical Design Review (CDR) of the GRACE Follow-on (GRACE-FO) mission was successfully passed at Airbus Defense & Space in Friedrichshafen. A team of NASA experts reviewed the design of the ground, instrument and satellite systems. The Board found no significant issues and therefore the flight hardware is now in full production. The target launch date is August 2017. The novelty of GRACE-FO is the experimental Laser Ranging Interferometer (LRI), the first interspacecraft laser interferometer ever. The LRI is a joint undertaking between NASA and Germany. EGSIEM partners have important roles in the GRACE-FO mission: GFZ Potsdam is responsible for the launch vehicle and for mission operation, provides Laser Retroreflectors (LRR) for both satellites and is strongly involved in the data analysis within the joint US/German Science Data System. For the LRI instrument, AEI Hannover provided the basic design, prototyping and instrument management in Germany.
