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The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite has arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, where the final preparations for its launch in December will take place. This satellite will be the first of its kind to observe almost all water on Earth’s surface, including lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean.

SWOT’s instruments are designed to measure the height of water in various bodies and will be capable of resolving ocean features such as currents and eddies that are less than 60 miles in size. It will also be able to detect lakes and reservoirs larger than 15 acres and rivers wider than 330 feet.

The scientific payload of SWOT was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. In June 2021, the payload was transported to France, where it was integrated with the satellite bus by a multinational team. The Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) and other finely tuned instruments were also incorporated into the payload.

After arriving at Vandenberg from France, SWOT was moved to the Astrotech Space Operations facility for launch processing. In the coming weeks, the satellite will undergo various steps, including encapsulation in a protective payload fairing, mating to the rocket, and transportation to the launch pad.

Once in orbit, SWOT will collect data on the ocean, providing insights into how seawater absorbs atmospheric heat and carbon, which impacts global temperatures and climate change. It will also help researchers understand coastal sea levels and their interaction with a changing climate, particularly in relation to phenomena like storm surges.

SWOT will also conduct the first comprehensive global survey of freshwater lakes, rivers, and reservoirs from space. By measuring the height and surface area of these water bodies, the satellite will assist scientists and water resource managers in monitoring changes in water volume over time.

This mission is a collaboration between NASA, the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatial (CNES), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the UK Space Agency. The launch service is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program.

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