Jason-1 Lithograph

The Falcon 9 protective payload fairing containing the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite

TOPEX/Poseidon DORIS

Mike Davis in front of the faring

For NASA JPL engineer Parag Vaze, studying Earth’s rising ocean has been a career three decades in the making.

The 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...

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

Jason-3 Animation

t - 7 minutes - Photo: Tom Shain

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

OSTM/Jason-2 Line Drawing

The joint U.S.-European Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the next in a line of Earth-observing satellites that will collect the most accurate data yet on sea level and how it changes over time. With ...

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

TOPEX/Poseidon Poster (no text)

Jason-1 launch images

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.

Inside half of the Delta Clam shell faring

TOPEX/Poseidon Altimeter

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.

Mission team members perform acoustic tests of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite in a chamber outfitted with giant speakers that blast the spacecraft with sound. This is to ensure that the ...

Radiometer Install - Jan. 2007

Jason-1 readies for launch in its bay at Vandenberg, AFB (10/31/01)

The SpaceX Falcon 9 with the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is lifted to vertical at Space Launch Complex 4

TOPEX/Poseidon launch

Early morning at the launch pad