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SWOT Launches on Mission to Study Earth’s Water

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NASA

Dec 16, 2022
Image Article
An image of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Friday, Dec. 16.
The mission launched Dec. 16, 2022.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft onboard, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Jointly developed by NASA and Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and United Kingdom Space Agency, SWOT is the first satellite mission that will observe nearly all water on Earth’s surface, measuring the height of water in the planet’s lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean.

Photo Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

See more photos from the SWOT launch.