Jason-3
Ocean Surface Topography Mission (NASA / CNES / NOAA / EUMETSAT)
Operational · 2016- Operator
- NASA JPL, CNES, NOAA, EUMETSAT
- Launched
- January 17, 2016
- Launch vehicle
- SpaceX Falcon 9 (Vandenberg AFB)
- Orbit
- ~1,336 km (830 mi) low Earth orbit
- Mission type
- Earth observation — ocean surface topography / radar altimetry
Jason-3 is a U.S.–European satellite mission that continues the more than three-decade record of global sea-surface height measurements begun by TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992 and continued by Jason-1 and OSTM/Jason-2. It launched January 17, 2016 from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Operating in a low Earth orbit, Jason-3 uses a radar altimeter to monitor 95% of the world's ice-free oceans every ten days. Its data improves the accuracy of NOAA's tropical-cyclone strength forecasts, supports operational ocean monitoring, and extends the long-term sea-level rise record that has now documented more than 30 years of continuous global ocean change.
Alethium's role
Alethium contributed to the Jason-3 ground system as part of its continued JPL Jason-series support. The Jason-3 baseline shares the modernized single-baseline Java 1.8 ground architecture with ODBC integration and dynamic external earth-terminal communication that Alethium helped deliver across the Jason fleet.