TOPEX/Poseidon
Ocean Topography Experiment (NASA / CNES)
Decommissioned · 2005- Operator
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory & CNES
- Launched
- August 10, 1992
- End of mission
- October 2005
- Mission type
- Earth observation — ocean surface topography / radar altimetry
TOPEX/Poseidon was the first space mission able to measure global sea-surface height with the precision needed to detect ocean-circulation patterns, climate signals, and large-scale ocean variability. Operating for over thirteen years — far beyond its planned three-to-five-year lifetime — the satellite mapped the topography of more than 95% of Earth's ice-free oceans every ten days.
The mission established the methodology, ground-system architecture, and continuous data record that the Jason series of follow-on missions inherited.
Alethium's role
Predecessor mission to Jason-1. Listed here for context — Alethium's founders worked extensively on the Jason ground system that built on TOPEX/Poseidon's foundations.