NASA Launches a Mission to Survey Earth’s Water

At 3:46 a.m. PT on Friday, a satellite designed for NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales lifted off to its low-Earth orbit. Contributions from the Canadian Space Agency and the UK Space Agency also go to the Surface Water and Ocean Topography spacecraft.

The SWOT spacecraft was launched from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on a SpaceX rocket. It has a three-year prime mission. The satellite will measure water levels in freshwater bodies as well as the ocean covering more than 90% of the Earth’s surface. This data will give insight into the ocean’s influence on climate change, how warming worlds affect lakes, rivers and reservoirs, and how communities can prepare for natural disasters such as flooding.

Ground controllers were able to successfully acquire the signal from the satellite after SWOT was separated from the second stage on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket. Initial telemetry reports indicated that the spacecraft was in good health. SWOT will now go through a series calibrations and checks before it begins collecting science data in approximately six months.