SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches NASA satellite designed for HD mapping of Earth's water

NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite has launched into orbit to map the Earth's water to help scientists learn more about the effects it causes on the planet's climate. The satellite lifted off aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from the Vanderberg Space Force Station in California at 5:16 pm IST on December 16. About nine minutes after the launch, the first stage booster of the Falcon 9 rocket landed at the landing zone-4 at Vanderberg space force while the second stage continued to push the satellite into orbit. 

At 6:10 pm IST, NASA confirmed the successful deployment of the SWOT satellite. It will now cover the Earth's surface worldwide at least twice every 21 days for a minimum of three years.

According to SpaceX, this particular Falcon 9 booster flew for the sixth time as it has previously supported the NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1 and two Starlink missions so far. 

Purpose of the SWOT mission

The satellite has been developed by NASA in partnership with the French Space Agency (CNES) and with the Canadian and UK space agencies as key contributors. Its purpose is to observe 90% of the Earth's water in higher definition than ever before. "The satellite will measure the height of water in Earth’s freshwater bodies and the ocean, providing insights into how the ocean influences climate change; how a warming world affects lakes, rivers, and reservoirs; and how communities can better prepare for disasters, like floods", NASA said in a statement. 

The satellite is as big as an SUV and it has antennas that stick out about 16 feet (5 metres) on either side after full deployment. Once its operations begin, SWOT will collect data on ocean features less than 100 km across helping to improve researchers’ understanding of the ocean’s role in climate change. 

"The spacecraft’s instruments will observe the entire length of nearly all rivers wider than 330 feet (100 meters), viewing them in three dimensions for the first time", NASA said. "Likewise, where ground and satellite technologies currently provide data on only a few thousand of the world’s largest lakes, SWOT will expand that number to over a million lakes larger than 15 acres (62,500 square meters)". Moreover, the satellite will also be used to monitor drought conditions in lakes and improve flood forecasts for rivers and assist agencies in disaster preparedness as well as those in need to track local water levels.