Jason-3 Animation

Headed for Orbit!

A look at how NASA is dealing with the threat of sea level rise to its coastal infrastructure.

Jason-3

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

Early morning at the launch pad

Watching Our Oceans

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

Jason-1 Lithograph

Decades of Discovery - How altimeters help us every day.

It's hard to "see" sea level rise by just looking at the ocean, but its effects are very real.

OSTM/Jason-2 Artist's Concept

Jason-1 Line Drawing

In many communities in the U.S., sea level rise is already a factor in people’s lives in the form of high-tide flooding.

Jason-3 Satellite Prepared For Launch

Jason-1 launch images

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 ocean-observing Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Nov. 21, 2020 at 12:17 p.m. EST

Changing conditions in the Pacific have stirred up Earth’s largest ocean and redistributed its heat, piling up warm waters along U.S. Western shores and raising sea level in the process.

Jason-1 Poster

TOPEX/Poseidon Instruments

In this illustration, the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft - the world's latest sea-level satellite - orbits Earth with its deployable solar panels extended.

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

t - 7 minutes - Photo: Tom Shain

This is an artist's concept of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft.

Spacecraft processing