The Jason-3 satellite is on its way to join its predecessors in orbit, carried aloft on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket following an on-time liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Starting in about two and a half minutes, a series of critical milestones will occur in rapid succession. First is Falcon 9 main engine cutoff, followed by the separation of the first stage from the second stage. Then the second-stage engine will ignite, and finally, the payload fairing protecting Jason-3 will separate and fall away.