t - 10 minutes

Altimeter Mission Series

Jason-1 Line Drawing

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying the Jason-3 spacecraft. Liftoff was at 10:42 a.m. PST (1:42 p.m. EST).

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Nov. 21, 2020, at 9:17 a.m. PST

The Antonov cargo aircraft carrying the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite touches down on the runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sept. 24, 2020.

Jason-1 Altimeter

These photos were taken during the Dual Payload Attach Fitting (DPAF) mating operation with Jason-1. (11/13/01) Photos: Scott Michel

Jason-1: LRA instrument

Sea Surface Height

Mike Davis in front of the faring

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will join a long-standing family of Earth observing satellites from NASA and European partners.

OSTM/Jason-2 GPSP

Jason-3 Launch

TOPEX/Poseidon LRA

These photos were taken during the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF) mating operation with Jason-1. (11/14/01) Photos: Scott Michel

Jason-1 Radiometer

Jason-1 Launch Configuration

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, topped with the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite secured inside its payload fairing, is rolled to Space Launch Complex 4

Our planet is changing. Our ocean is rising. And it affects us all. That’s why a new international satellite will continue the decades-long watch over our global ocean and help us better understand...

Headed for Orbit!

These photos were taken during the Dual Payload Attach Fitting (DPAF) mating operation with Jason-1. (11/13/01) Photos: Scott Michel

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite sits in front of a testing chamber where mission team members tested whether the spacecraft could endure the loud sounds it will encounter during launch.

Spacecraft processing

QuickTime VR of TOPEX/Poseidon

Jason-3 Animation