Satellite Projects

Alethium personnel have contributed to a number of NASA and partner satellite missions, primarily through ground systems, mission operations, and software engineering work at JPL.

  • TOPEX/Poseidon

    Decommissioned

    Ocean Topography Experiment (NASA / CNES)

    The pioneering joint NASA / CNES satellite radar-altimetry mission that established the continuous global sea-level record continued today by Jason-1, Jason-2, Jason-3, and Sentinel-6.

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  • Jason-1

    Decommissioned

    Ocean Surface Topography Mission (NASA / CNES)

    A joint NASA / CNES radar altimetry satellite that mapped global sea level, wave height, and ocean winds for over a decade — the follow-on to TOPEX/Poseidon.

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  • WISE / NEOWISE

    Decommissioned

    Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NASA)

    NASA's all-sky infrared survey mission. Catalogued three-quarters of a billion objects, discovered the coolest brown dwarfs and the most luminous galaxies, and was later reactivated as NEOWISE to hunt near-Earth asteroids.

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  • OSTM / Jason-2

    Decommissioned

    Ocean Surface Topography Mission (NASA / CNES / NOAA / EUMETSAT)

    The third mission in the U.S.–European ocean-altimetry series, continuing the global sea-surface height record begun by TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1.

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  • Jason-3

    Operational

    Ocean Surface Topography Mission (NASA / CNES / NOAA / EUMETSAT)

    The fourth mission in the U.S.–European ocean-altimetry series. Operational since 2016, Jason-3 measures sea-surface height across 95% of the world's ice-free oceans every ten days.

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  • CALIPSO

    Mission concluded

    Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (NASA / CNES)

    A joint NASA / CNES Earth-observation satellite that used lidar and infrared instruments to study the role of clouds and atmospheric aerosols in Earth's climate, weather, and air quality.

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  • ASTERIA

    Mission concluded

    Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics (NASA JPL / MIT)

    A six-unit CubeSat technology demonstration developed by JPL and MIT to achieve arcsecond-level pointing precision and stable focal-plane temperature control from a small satellite platform.

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  • SPHEREx

    Operational

    Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (NASA)

    A NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission performing the first all-sky spectroscopic survey in the near-infrared — mapping more than 450 million galaxies and 100 million Milky Way stars to investigate cosmic inflation, galaxy formation, and the origins of life-sustaining molecules.

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