In low Earth orbit, the number of satellites has increased by one. SpaceX sent a device there
What is known
The satellite is called Surface Water and OceanTopography (SWOT). It was developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Center for Space Research of France, and the Space Agencies of the United Kingdom and Canada.
Falcon 9 launches the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission to orbit; first stage booster returns to Earth pic.twitter.com/VOoFXucRrT
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 16, 2022
SWOT was launched into low earth orbit withA Falcon 9 rocket launched from US Space Force Base Vandenberg in California. Less than 8 minutes after launch, the first stage returned to the site 0.5 km from the starting point.
The satellite was in orbit 52 minutes afterlaunch. He spent three hours testing the equipment, and will start deploying the antenna early next week. Scientists will need six months to calibrate the instruments. All this time, the satellite will be at an altitude of 857 km, after which the orbit will be raised to 891 km above the surface of our planet.
SWOT will track water levels in the oceans,seas, rivers and lakes. Thanks to these data, specialists will be able to study the changes that occur in the World Ocean under the influence of various factors, incl. climate and human activities.