The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rolled from a hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to Space Launch Complex 4 on Friday, Jan. 15 and was raised into the vertical position on the launch pad at 11:11 a.m. PST today. The launch vehicle will boost the Jason-3 satellite to orbit. It will be the fourth in a series of spacecraft providing scientists with essential information about global and regional changes in the seas. Built by Thales Alenia of France, Jason-3 will measure the topography of the ocean surface for a four-agency international partnership consisting of NOAA, NASA, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, France’s space agency, and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.
Liftoff is targeted for 10:42:18 a.m. PST / 1:42:18 p.m. EST on Sunday from Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Join us right here for updates from the countdown beginning at 8 a.m. PST / 11 a.m. EST.
Photo credit: SpaceX