Checking Out The Ocean Without Getting Soaked—OSTM/Jason 2 Launch Set

June 20th at Vandenburg AFB in California is the location… the date is June 20th… and vehicle is a Delta II rocket… and the payload is the Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM/Jason 2). The launch window extends from 12:46 a.m. to 12:55 a.m., PDT. OSTM/Jason 2 will be placed in orbit at 830 miles with an inclination of 66 degrees, with the expected separation of the satellite from the rocket expected 55 minutes after the liftoff. The five primary science instruments of the Ocean Surface Topography Mission aboard the Jason 2 spacecraft are dedicated to measuring ocean surface height. These measurements will be used to evaluate and forecast climate changes and improve weather forecasting. The results also are expected to help forecasters better predict hurricane intensity. The mission is an international collaboration between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the mission for NASA. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center‘s Launch Services Program is responsible for the agency’s launch management of the Delta II rocket.