Jason-1
Ocean Surface Topography Mission (NASA / CNES)
Decommissioned · 2013- Operator
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory & CNES (French Space Agency)
- Launched
- December 7, 2001
- Decommissioned
- July 2013
- Mission type
- Earth observation — ocean surface topography / radar altimetry
- Predecessor
- TOPEX/Poseidon
- Successors
- OSTM/Jason-2, Jason-3
Jason-1 was a joint NASA / CNES Earth-observing satellite that used radar altimetry to measure the height of the ocean surface to a precision of a few centimeters. Over more than eleven years of operation it mapped sea level, wind speed, and wave height across more than 95% of Earth's ice-free oceans, providing the data that underpins modern weather, ocean, and climate forecasting.
The mission was the successor to the highly successful TOPEX/Poseidon and was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in December 2001. It began returning science data in January 2002 and was decommissioned in July 2013 after the failure of its last remaining transmitter.
Jason-1's data established a continuous, calibrated, multi-decade record of global sea level that continues today through the Jason-2, Jason-3, and Sentinel-6 missions.
Alethium's role
Alethium's founders were on the team that designed, developed, tested, and delivered the approximately 1.2 million-line Jason-1 satellite ground system at JPL, including the JTCCS (Jason-1 Telemetry, Command, and Communications System) architecture. The work earned the 2002 JPL Software of the Year award and an Honorable Mention for the 2002 NASA Software of the Year.