Jason-3 Lift-off

Partially obscured by fog at Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket roars to life. The liftoff will boost the Jason-3 spacecraft to orbit. Liftoff was at 10:42 a.m. PST (1:42 p.m. EST). Data from Jason-3 will provide information about oceans that forecasters need to better predict severe weather and devastating hurricanes before they arrive onshore. Built by Thales Alenia of France, Jason-3 will measure the topography of the ocean surface for a four-agency international partnership consisting of NOAA, NASA, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, France’s space agency, and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.

Photo credit: NASA