SWOT Unfolds in Space
Watch the latest water satellite unfold itself in space.
Engineers are working to get the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite ready to start measuring the height of water on more than 90% of the Earth's surface and provide a high-definition survey of our planet's water for the first time. The SWOT satellite was launched into Earth orbit on Friday, December 16, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California.
Before that happens, however, SWOT needs to successfully deploy the solar panel arrays that provide the satellite with power and must unfold its substantial mast and antenna panels. The program uses telemetry data to monitor and control the satellite. The spacecraft has been outfitted with four specialized commercial cameras to capture the activity. Here is the footage they recorded:
The antennas successfully deployed over four days, a process that was completed on Dec. 22. The two cameras focused on the KaRIn antennas captured the mast extending out from the spacecraft and locking in place but stopped short of capturing the antennas being fully deployed (a milestone the team confirmed with telemetry data). 10 meters apart, at either end of the mast, the two antennas belong to the groundbreaking Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument which is designed to capture precise measurements of the height of water in Earth's freshwater bodies and the ocean, KaRIn will see eddies, currents, and other ocean features less than 20 kilometers across. It will also collect data on lakes and reservoirs larger than 15 acres (62,500 square meters) and rivers wider than 100 meters across. The following series of images shows the deployment of the solar arrays that power the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite:
The data SWOT gathers will provide researchers an ability to address some of the most pressing climate questions of our time and hopefully help countries and communities prepare for a warming world.