Vandenberg Launch Control Team Monitors Countdown

In the launch control center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA, contractor managers and engineers follow preparations to launch a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Jason-3 spacecraft. 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