Would Boost The Jason-3 Satellite For NOAA From Vandenberg AFB

SpaceX is planning a return to operations this week with a launch of a group of 11 ORBCOMM satellites Saturday night ... if a static fire test goes well. But the company is also looking ahead to a launch for NOAA in January from Vandenberg AFB in California.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the the California launch would boost the Jason-3 spacecraft into orbit for NOAA. According to the NOAA website, Jason-3 is designed to maintain long-term satellite altimetry observations of global sea surface height. These data provide critical ocean information that forecasters need to predict devastating hurricanes and severe weather before they arrive onshore. Over the long term, Jason-3 will help us to track global sea level rise, an increasing threat to the resilience of coastal communities and to the health of our environment.

Jason-3’s highly accurate altimetry measurements will be used for a variety of scientific, commercial and operational applications, including:

• Hurricane intensity forecasting
• Surface wave forecasting for offshore operators
• Forecasting tides and currents for commercial shipping and ship routing
• Coastal forecasting for response to environmental problems like oil spills and harmful algal blooms
• Coastal modeling crucial for marine mammal and coral reef research
• El Niño and La Niña forecasting

NOAA had originally hoped to launch Jason-3 back in August, according to the paper, but the failure of a Falcon 9 booster on an ISS resupply mission delayed that launch until SpaceX could resolve that problem.

(Image provided by NOAA)

FMI: http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/jason-3/