NASA, SpaceX, and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) are targeting 3:46 a.m. PST Thursday, Dec. 15, for launch of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite – the first global survey of nearly all water on Earth’s surface.
Today, Dec. 13, at 3 p.m. EST (noon PST), NASA will hold a SWOT science briefing with the following participants:
- Katherine Calvin, chief scientist and senior climate advisor, NASA
- Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, SWOT program scientist, NASA
- Tamlin Pavelsky, SWOT hydrology science lead, University of North Carolina
- Benjamin Hamlington, research scientist, Sea Level and Ice Group, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
- Selma Cherchali, Earth observation program head, CNES
A prelaunch news conference will take place tomorrow, Dec. 14, at 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST). Participants include:
- Karen St. Germain, Earth science division director, NASA
- Tim Dunn, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program
- Julianna Scheiman, civil satellite missions director, SpaceX
- Parag Vaze, SWOT project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Thierry Lafon, SWOT project manager, CNES
- Capt. Maximillian Rush, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force
Both briefings will air live on NASA TV and the agency’s website. At 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. PST) on Dec. 14, NASA Edge will host the SWOT Rollout Show that will air live on NASA TV and YouTube.
SWOT will help researchers understand Earth’s water cycle, providing insight into how much water flows in and out of Earth’s freshwater bodies and helping researchers understand the ocean’s role in climate change. The instruments onboard will measure the height of water in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean, and will observe ocean features in higher definition than ever before.
SWOT is scheduled to lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch service.