The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite atop, stands poised for liftoff at Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Dec. 16, 2022. Photo credit: NASA
We are just over 15 minutes away from liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will carry the Earth water-monitoring satellite to orbit. Weather continues to look good at 100% “go” for launch, and the rocket’s engines are chilling in preparation for launch.
As a reminder, the launch broadcast is airing now on NASA TV and the agency’s website. If teams are not able to launch at 3:46 a.m. PST, there’s an extra opportunity just 10 minutes later at 3:56 a.m. PST. Keep following along here on the blog for updates as we approach liftoff.
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft is moved into a transport container inside the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 18, 2022.
Water is an essential part of life on Earth, and now, scientists are using a satellite mission to take a closer look. A joint development between NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite will survey nearly all water on the Earth’s surface for the first time.
The satellite, about the size of a mid-size SUV, will scan over 90% of the planet’s surface at least once every 21 days as it collects data on Earth’s salt- and freshwater bodies. It will measure the height of water in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean, helping researchers track the movement of water around the globe and better understand the role the ocean plays in climate change.
SWOT will also view ocean features in greater detail than ever before, revealing things such as fronts and eddies that are too small for current space-based satellites to detect. This will allow scientists to gather data close to the coast, in turn painting a clearer picture of sea level and how sea surface height interacts with the climate to affect things like storm surges and flooding on the coast.
Stay connected with the mission on social media and let others know you’re following it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtag #TrackingWorldWater and tagging these accounts:
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite atop, stands poised for liftoff at Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Dec. 16, 2022. Photo credit: NASA
Hello, and welcome to live launch coverage of the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission!
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands poised for liftoff at Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Space Launch Complex-4 East in California, ready to send SWOT on the first mission to observe nearly all water on the Earth’s surface. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch.
This will be LSP’s 42nd primary mission to launch from Vandenberg, and the program’s 101st full end-to-end mission.
Today’s launch has two instantaneous launch opportunities. The first is targeted for 6:46:47 a.m. EST (3:46:47 a.m. PST), with a backup opportunity 10 minutes later at 6:56:47 a.m. EST (3:56:47 a.m. PST). Watch the launch broadcast on NASA TV, YouTube, Twitter, the NASA app, or the agency’s website and follow along right here on the blog as we take you through the entire flight profile.
Here’s a look at some of today’s countdown and ascent milestones (all times are approximate):
COUNTDOWN
Hr/Min/Sec Event
– 00:38:00 SpaceX launch director verifies go for propellant load
– 00:35:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading underway
– 00:35:00 1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading underway
– 00:16:00 2nd stage LOX loading underway
– 00:07:00 Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
– 00:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
– 00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
– 00:00:45 SpaceX launch director verifies go for launch
– 00:00:03 Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
– 00:00:00 Falcon 9 liftoff
Meteorologists with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 30 Weather Squadron are predicting a 100% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch, with no primary weather concerns.
On Monday, Dec. 12, teams mated the SWOT spacecraft – enclosed inside its protective payload fairing – to the top of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket was raised to a vertical position following its arrival to Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-4 East on Dec. 14, where it remains poised for liftoff. Photo credit: NASA/Keegan Barber
Teams held a delta launch readiness review Thursday to evaluate data collected on two of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket engines and determined the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission is a “go” for launch. Technicians completed data reviews and the analysis of the presence of moisture in the engines, which was discovered during routine inspections on Dec. 14.
NASA, the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), and SpaceX now are targeting 3:46:47 a.m. PST on Friday, Dec. 16, for launch from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
During a previously held launch readiness review earlier this week, launch managers signed the Certificate of Flight Readiness, solidifying their decision to proceed toward launch. The weather forecast remains favorable for launch.
Live launch coverage will begin at 6 a.m. EST (3 a.m. PST) Friday on NASA Television, YouTube, Twitter, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
SWOT will provide NASA’s first global survey of water on Earth’s surface, measuring the elevation of water in major lakes, rivers, and wetlands while observing ocean features in higher definition than ever before. The data gathered by SWOT will help researchers better understand the availability of Earth’s freshwater resources, track regional sea level changes, monitor coastal processes, and more.
NASA, the French space agency Centre National d’ÉtudesSpatiales, and SpaceX now are targeting 3:46 a.m. PST on Friday, Dec. 16, for launch of theSurface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission.
After SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket went vertical on the pad at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, teams identified moisture in two Merlin engines on the rocket’s first stage booster. Teams completed inspections of the rocket’s engines today, but will use the additional time to complete data reviews and analysis before a launch attempt.
The SWOT satellite is healthy, and the weather forecast remains favorable for liftoff on Friday morning. Live launch coverage will begin at 6 a.m. EST (3 a.m. PST) on Friday on NASA Television, YouTube, Twitter, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
Inside the SpaceX facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, a crane is used to lower the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite for mating to the payload adapter on Dec. 5, 2022. Photo credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Steven Gerl
NASA is adjusting the coverage time for the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission’s prelaunch news conference.
NEW TIME: 3 p.m. EST (noon PST) – SWOT Prelaunch News Conference on NASA TV and YouTube with the following participants:
Karen St. Germain, director, NASA’s Earth Science Division
Thierry Lafon, SWOT project manager, CNES
Tim Dunn, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program
Capt. Maximillian Rush, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force
The SWOT mission is targeted for liftoff at 6:46 a.m. EST (3:46 a.m. PST) Thursday, Dec. 15, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Live launch coverage will begin at 6 a.m. EST (3 a.m. PST) on NASA Television, YouTube, Twitter, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft is moved into a transport container inside the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 18, 2022.
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
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.
Inside the SpaceX facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, a technician assists as a crane lowers the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite onto the payload adapter on Dec. 5, 2022. SWOT is scheduled to lift off aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg on Dec. 15, 2022, at 3:46 a.m. PST. Photo credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Steven Gerl
NASA, SpaceX, and Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) launch managers met today, Dec. 9, to conduct a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. During the FRR, teams provided an update on the mission status, closed out actions from previous readiness reviews, and certified the readiness to initiate final launch preparation activities.
A collaboration between NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency, SWOT will be the first satellite to survey nearly all water on the Earth’s surface. Its instruments will observe the ocean’s surface topography in fine detail, as well as measure how bodies of water change over time.
Encapsulated inside the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s payload fairing, SWOT is now ready for its next major milestone. Over the next couple of days, technicians will horizontally integrate the encapsulated satellite to the Falcon 9.
Liftoff is scheduled for 3:46 a.m. PST on Thursday, Dec. 15, from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-4 East. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch service.
Inside the SpaceX facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, both halves of the SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing are moved to enclose the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite on Dec. 8, 2022. Photo credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Joshua Duffy
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission is now encapsulated in its payload fairing in preparation for launch. Technicians at the SpaceX processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California completed the operation and will soon mate the fairing to the top of a Falcon 9 rocket. The fairing protects the satellite from aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent. After the rocket escapes the Earth’s atmosphere, the fairing separates into two halves, which are jettisoned back to Earth.
Once in orbit, SWOT will measure the height of water in freshwater bodies and the ocean on more than 90% of Earth’s surface. This information will provide insights into how the ocean influences climate change; how a warming world affects lakes, rivers, and reservoirs; and how communities can better prepare for disasters, such as floods.
SWOT is a collaborative effort by NASA and Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and UK Space Agency.
Launch is targeted for Dec. 15 at 3:46 a.m. PST from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg.
