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NASA Launches Ocean Satellite to Keep A Weather, Climate Eye Open

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

June 20, 2008

thomas

PASADENA, Calif., June 20 /PRNewswire/ — A new NASA-French space
agency oceanography satellite launched today from Vandenberg Air Force
Base, Calif., on a globe-circling voyage to continue charting sea level, a
vital indicator of global climate change. The mission will return a vast
amount of new data that will improve weather, climate and ocean forecasts.

With a thunderous roar and fiery glow, the Ocean Surface Topography
Mission/Jason 2 satellite arced through the blackness of an early central
coastal California morning at 12:46 a.m. PDT, climbing into space atop a
Delta II rocket. Fifty-five minutes later, OSTM/Jason 2 separated from the
rocket’s second stage, and then, unfurled its twin sets of solar arrays.
Ground controllers successfully acquired the spacecraft’s signals. Initial
telemetry reports show it to be in excellent health.

“Sea-level measurements from space have come of age,” said Michael
Freilich, director of the Earth Science Division in NASA’s Science Mission
Directorate, Washington. “Precision measurements from this mission will
improve our knowledge of global and regional sea-level changes and enable
more accurate weather, ocean and climate forecasts.”

Measurements of sea-surface height, or ocean surface topography, reveal
the speed and direction of ocean currents and tell scientists how much of
the sun’s energy is stored by the ocean. Combining ocean current and heat
storage data is key to understanding global climate variations. OSTM/Jason
2’s expected lifetime of at least three years will extend into the next
decade the continuous record of these data started in 1992 by NASA and the
French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, or CNES, with the
TOPEX/Poseidon mission. The data collection was continued by the two
agencies on Jason 1 in 2001.

The mission culminates more than three decades of research by NASA and
CNES in this field. This expertise will be passed on to the world’s weather
and environmental forecasting agencies, which will be responsible for
collecting the data. The involvement of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Organisation for the
Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) as mission partners on
OSTM/Jason 2 helps establish this proven research capability as a valuable
tool for use in everyday applications.

OSTM/Jason 2’s five primary instruments are improved versions of those
flying on Jason 1. These technological advances will allow scientists to
monitor conditions in ocean coastal regions — home to about half of
Earth’s population. Compared with Jason 1 measurements, OSTM/Jason 2 will
have substantially increased accuracy and provide data to within 15 miles
of coastlines, nearly 50 percent closer to shore than in the past. Such
improvements will be welcome news for all those making their living on the
sea, from sailors and fishermen to workers in offshore industries. NOAA
will use the improved data to better predict hurricane intensity, which is
directly affected by the amount of heat stored in the upper ocean.

OSTM/Jason 2 entered orbit about 6 to 9 miles below Jason 1. The new
spacecraft will gradually use its thrusters to raise itself into the same
830- mile orbital altitude as Jason 1 and position itself to follow Jason
1’s ground track, orbiting about 60 seconds behind Jason 1. The two
spacecraft will fly in formation, making nearly simultaneous measurements
for about six months to allow scientists to precisely calibrate OSTM/Jason
2’s instruments.

Once cross-calibration is complete, Jason 1 will alter course,
adjusting its orbit so that its ground tracks fall midway between those of
OSTM/Jason 2. Together, the two spacecraft will double global coverage.
This tandem mission will improve our knowledge of tides in coastal and
shallow seas and internal tides in the open ocean, while improving our
understanding of ocean currents and eddies.

CNES is providing the OSTM/Jason 2 spacecraft. NASA and CNES jointly
are providing the primary payload instruments. NASA’s Launch Services
Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida was responsible for launch
management and countdown operations for the Delta II. NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission for NASA’s Science
Mission Directorate, Washington.

SOURCE NASA

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