Ocean Survey Spacecraft Arrives at Launch Site
A spacecraft designed to continue a long-term survey of Earth's oceans has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., for final launch preparations.
PASADENA, Calif. – A NASA and French Space Agency (CNES) spacecraft designed 
to continue a long-term survey of Earth's oceans has arrived at Vandenberg 
Air Force Base, Calif., for final launch preparations. The new satellite will 
study ocean circulation and the effect oceans have on weather, climate and 
how Earth is responding to global climate change.The Ocean Surface Topography Mission, called OSTM for short, will be flown 
on the Jason-2 spacecraft, which was transported on April 24 from its manufacturer, 
Thales Alenia Space, in Cannes, France, to Toulouse, France. It was loaded 
onto a Boeing 747 aircraft for its trans-Atlantic journey and after refueling 
in Boston, it arrived April 29 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Following final 
tests, it will be integrated onto a United Launch Alliance Delta II launch 
vehicle in preparation for a planned launch in June.With the launch of this satellite, the science of precisely measuring and 
studying the height of the sea surface across Earth's oceans will come of age. 
Continuous collection of these measurements began in 1992 with the NASA/CNES 
Topex/Poseidon mission and continued in 2001 with NASA/CNES's Jason-1 mission, 
which is currently providing near-real-time data to a variety of users. The 
addition of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and 
the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites 
(EUMETSAT) as partners on OSTM/Jason-2 begins transitioning the responsibility 
for collecting these data to weather and climate forecasting agencies, which 
will use them for short-range and seasonal-to-long-range ocean forecasting.The 15-plus-year climate data record that this mission will continue is the 
only one capable of addressing how ocean circulation is linked to climate 
change and how global sea level, one of the most important consequences and 
indicators of global climate change, is changing.Satellite observations of Earth's oceans have revolutionized our understanding 
of global climate by improving ocean models and hurricane forecasts, and 
identifying and tracking large ocean/atmosphere phenomena such as El Niño 
and La Niña. The data are used every day in applications as diverse as, for 
example, routing ships, improving the safety and efficiency of offshore industry 
operations, managing fisheries and tracking marine mammals.The spacecraft will be launched into a 1,336-kilometer (830-mile) circular, 
non-sun-synchronous orbit at an inclination of 66 degrees to Earth's equator, 
allowing it to monitor 95 percent of Earth's ice-free oceans every 10 days.The Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2 is an international and interagency 
mission developed and operated as a four-party collaboration among NASA; NOAA; 
the French Space Agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales; and EUMETSAT. CNES 
is providing the spacecraft, NASA and CNES are jointly providing the payload 
instruments and NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center is 
responsible for the launch management and countdown operations for the Delta II. 
After completing the on-orbit commissioning of the spacecraft, CNES will hand over 
operation and control of the spacecraft to NOAA. NOAA and EUMETSAT will generate 
the near-real-time products and distribute them to users. NASA's Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission 
Directorate, Washington. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of 
Technology in Pasadena.For more information on the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2, visit:http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ostm.html