To help locate and track firefighters inside buildings, where other positioning technologies fail, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) are developing POINTER. Short for Precision Outdoor and Indoor Navigation and Tracking for Emergency Responders, the system began taking shape in 2014 and is being matured for use by fire departments nationwide. The POINTER system is composed of three parts: a receiver, transmitter, and base station. The receiver (left) has been shrunk from the size of a backpack to the size of a large smartphone, and further development will miniaturize it so it can be easily clipped to a belt buckle. The transmitter (top right) is a system of coils that generate the magnetoquasistatic fields, which — unlike the radio waves used by GPS and radio-frequency identification — are able to pass through construction materials to interact with the receiver, enabling fire crews to track the location and orientation of firefighters. To test the system, transmitters have been attached to an out-of-service firetruck (lower right). Through 2021, POINTER will undergo field tests and a commercial version of POINTER will be made available to fire departments in 2022. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24562

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and shipped the receiver, transmitter, and electronics necessary to complete the radar instrument for Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), the ESA (European Space Agency) mission to explore Jupiter and its three large icy moons. In this photo, shot at JPL on April 27, 2020, the transmitter undergoes random vibration testing to ensure the instrument can survive the shaking that comes with launch. Part of an instrument called Radar for Icy Moon Exploration, or RIME, the transmitter sends out radio waves, which can penetrate surfaces of icy moons and help scientists "see" underneath. A collaboration between JPL and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), RIME is one of 10 instruments that will fly aboard ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, set to launch in 2022. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24024

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and shipped the receiver, transmitter and electronics necessary to complete the radar instrument for ESA's (European Space Agency's) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission. Set to launch in 2022, JUICE will explore Jupiter and its three large icy moons. The transmitter works by sending out radio waves, which can penetrate surfaces of icy moons so that scientists "see" underneath. The instrument, called Radar for Icy Moon Exploration, or RIME, is a collaboration by JPL and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and is one of ten instruments that will fly aboard. This photo, shot at JPL on July 23, 2020, shows the transmitter as it exits a thermal vacuum chamber. The test is one of several designed to ensure the hardware can survive the conditions of space travel. The thermal chamber simulates deep space by creating a vacuum and by varying the temperatures to match those the instrument will experience over the life of the mission. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24025

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A sea turtle rescued from the Mosquito Lagoon is prepared to receive a transmitter on its back. Several turtles were found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and one received the transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported in a skiff through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel and released into the Indian River Lagoon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A sea turtle rescued from the Mosquito Lagoon is prepared to receive a transmitter on its back. Several turtles were found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and one received the transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported in a skiff through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel and released into the Indian River Lagoon.

S72-37259 (November 1972) --- The Geophone Module and Cable Reels of the Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment (S-203), a component of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package which will be carried on the Apollo 17 lunar landing mission. LSPE components are four geophones similar to those used in an earlier active seismic experiment, an electronics package in the ALSEP central station, and eight explosive packages which will be deployed during the geology traverse. The four geophones will be placed one in the center and one at each corner of a 90-meter equilateral triangle. Explosive charges placed on the surface will generate seismic waves of varying strengths to provide data on the structural profile of the landing site. After the charges have been fired by ground command, the experiment will settle down into a passive listening mode, detecting moonquakes, meteorite impacts and the thump caused by the Lunar Module ascent stage impact.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A sea turtle rescued from the Mosquito Lagoon is seen with a transmitter recently attached to its back. Several turtles were found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and one received the transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported in a skiff through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel and released back into the Mosquito Lagoon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A large sea turtle with a transmitter is released into the Mosquito Lagoon. It is one of several turtles found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and the largest one received a transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel for release.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A large sea turtle with a transmitter lies in the skiff that will return it to the Mosquito Lagoon. It is one of several turtles found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and one received a transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel and released.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A large sea turtle with a transmitter swims away after release into the Mosquito Lagoon. It is one of several turtles found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and the largest one received a transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel for release.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A large sea turtle with a transmitter is ready to be returned to the Mosquito Lagoon. It is one of several turtles found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and the one received a transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel and released.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- This closeup shows the transmitter being attached to a sea turtle rescued from the Mosquito Lagoon. Several turtles were found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and one received the transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported in a skiff through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel and released into the Indian River Lagoon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Several sea turtles await their release into the Mosquito Lagoon. They were found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and the largest one received a transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel for release.

jsc2022e087162 (11/16/2022) --- For Secure Laser Communications between International Space Station and Ground Station (SeCRETS) investigation, the cryptographic keys (random numbers) sent from the transmitter are sent in the free space optical communication path and received by the detector installed on the ground. In this key sharing, the information exchange of error correction and key distillation via the International Space Station Radio Frequency lines. Image courtesy of JAXA.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A sea turtle is released into the Mosquito Lagoon. It is one of several turtles found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and the largest one received a transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel for release..

NASA’s Beaming Energy for Air Mobility team successfully completed a first-of-its-kind power beaming test at NASA Glenn on June 4, 2025. Later this year, the tested transmitter will be used in a demonstration to wirelessly transmit power using microwaves to a custom power receiver — a step toward gap-filling technology that could one day deliver power on the surface of the Moon or Mars. Seth Waldstein, Seth Schisler and Bryan Schoenholz are in the control room reviewing the results.

NASA’s Beaming Energy for Air Mobility team successfully completed a first-of-its-kind power beaming test at NASA Glenn on June 4, 2025. Later this year, the tested transmitter will be used in a demonstration to wirelessly transmit power using microwaves to a custom power receiver — a step toward gap-filling technology that could one day deliver power on the surface of the Moon or Mars.

NASA’s Beaming Energy for Air Mobility team successfully completed a first-of-its-kind power beaming test at NASA Glenn on June 4, 2025. Later this year, the tested transmitter will be used in a demonstration to wirelessly transmit power using microwaves to a custom power receiver — a step toward gap-filling technology that could one day deliver power on the surface of the Moon or Mars.

NASA’s Beaming Energy for Air Mobility team successfully completed a first-of-its-kind power beaming test at NASA Glenn on June 4, 2025. Later this year, the tested transmitter will be used in a demonstration to wirelessly transmit power using microwaves to a custom power receiver — a step toward gap-filling technology that could one day deliver power on the surface of the Moon or Mars.

NASA’s Beaming Energy for Air Mobility team successfully completed a first-of-its-kind power beaming test at NASA Glenn. Later this year, the tested transmitter will be used in a demonstration to wirelessly transmit power using microwaves to a custom power receiver — a step toward gap-filling technology that could one day deliver power on the surface of the Moon or Mars. Seth Waldstein, Seth Schisler and Bryan Schoenholz are in the control room reviewing the data.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and shipped the receiver, transmitter and electronics necessary to complete the radar instrument for the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission. Set to launch in 2022, JUICE is the ESA (European Space Agency) mission to explore Jupiter and its three large icy moons. From front: JPL engineers and technicians Jeremy Steinert, Jordan Tanabe, Glenn Jeffery, and Robert Johnson follow COVID-19 Safe-at-Work guidelines as they transport the transmitter and electronics on Aug. 19, 2020, for shipping to the Italian Space Agency (ASI). ASI is collaborating with JPL to build the instrument, called Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME). It is one of 10 instruments that will fly aboard JUICE. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24026

The Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration's flight laser transceiver is shown at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in April 2021, before being installed inside its box-like enclosure that was later integrated with NASA's Psyche spacecraft. The transceiver consists of a near-infrared laser transmitter to send high-rate data to Earth, and a sensitive photon-counting camera to receive ground-transmitted low-rate data. The transceiver is mounted on an assembly of struts and actuators – shown in this photograph – that stabilizes the optics from spacecraft vibrations. The DSOC experiment is the agency's first demonstration of optical communications beyond the Earth-Moon system. DSOC is a system that consists of this flight laser transceiver, a ground laser transmitter, and a ground laser receiver. New advanced technologies have been implemented in each of these elements. The transceiver will "piggyback" on NASA's Psyche spacecraft when it launches in August 2022 to the metal-rich asteroid of the same name. The DSOC technology demonstration will begin shortly after launch and continue as the spacecraft travels from Earth to its gravity-assist flyby of Mars. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24569

The Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration's flight laser transceiver can be easily identified on NASA's Psyche spacecraft, seen in this December 2021 photograph inside a clean room at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. DSOC's tube-like gray/silver sunshade can be seen protruding from the side of the spacecraft. The bulge to which the sunshade is attached is DSOC's transceiver, which consists of a near-infrared laser transmitter to send high-rate data to Earth and a sensitive photon-counting camera to receive ground-transmitted low-rate data. The DSOC experiment is the agency's first demonstration of optical communications beyond the Earth-Moon system. DSOC is a system that consists of this flight laser transceiver, a ground laser transmitter, and a ground laser receiver. New advanced technologies have been implemented in each of these elements. The transceiver will "piggyback" on NASA's Psyche spacecraft when it launches in August 2022 to the metal-rich asteroid of the same name. The DSOC technology demonstration will begin shortly after launch and continue as the spacecraft travels from Earth to its gravity-assist flyby of Mars. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24570

NASA Glenn researchers Jacki Houts, James Nessel and Michael Zemba perform a final inspection of the W/V-Band Terrestrial Link Experiment (WTLE) before it was transported to Albuquerque, New Mexico for testing. The experiment hardware includes a transmitter, which has been placed on the crest of the Sandia Mountains and a receiver (shown) placed at a research facility of the University of New Mexico. The wireless link spans 23km and will be used to study the effects of the atmosphere on high data-rate wireless communication links at 72 and 84 GHz. The goal of the experiment is to study these frequency bands for satellite communications.

In a delicate operation, a 400-ton crane lifts the new X-band cone into the 70-meter (230-foot) Deep Space Network's Deep Space Station 43 (DSS-43) dish in Canberra, Australia. The new cone houses upgraded receiver and transmitter equipment for the 48-year-old antenna. One of several antennas located at the Canberra site, DSS-43 is the largest and responsible for transmitting commands to NASA's Voyager spacecraft. Since early March 2020, DSS43 has been offline for upgrades, which are expected to continue until January 2021. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23796

In this photo, Director of the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency's (ABMA) Development Operations Division, Dr. Wernher von Braun, and Director of Missile Firing Division, Dr. Kurt Debus, are shown with unidentified individuals, discussing two components that would make up the Pioneer IV Lunar Probe. The mercury batteries (left) were used to power the radio transmitter, cosmic radiation counter and other instruments in Pioneer IV. The conical shroud placed over the instruments of Pioneer IV was plated with gold to improve conductivity. The metal surface also served as the anterna for the probe's instruments signaling back to the Earth receiving stations.

The antenna of the Deep Space Network's Deep Space Station 43 (DSS-43) in Canberra, Australia, spans 70 meters (230 foot) and stands 73 meters (239 foot), dwarfing workers as they perform upgrades on the central cone that contains sensitive transmitters and receivers. A giant crane assisted with the replacement of parts that had been operating on the antenna for over 40 years. One of several antennas located at the Canberra Deep Space Network station, DSS-43 is the largest and responsible for transmitting commands to NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft. Since early March 2020, DSS-43 has been offline for the upgrades, which are expected to continue until January 2021. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23795

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - One of several sea turtles rescued from the Mosquito Lagoon is ready for release. The turtles were found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and one received the transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported in a skiff through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel and released back into the Mosquito Lagoon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A worker watches as one of the rescued sea turtles swims away in Mosquito Lagoon. It is one of several turtles found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and the largest one received a transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel for release.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A sea turtle is carried toward the skiff that will return it to the lagoon. It is one of several turtles found stunned, impacted by the unseasonal cold temperatures experienced in Central Florida. The cooperative effort of KSC contractor Dynamac Corporation's Aquatics Program and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge warmed the turtles and evaluated them for release. Most were tagged and one received a transmitter, provided by the University of Central Florida, for satellite tracking. The turtles were then transported through the Haulover Canal to a location away from the main channel and released.

NASA’s Beaming Energy for Air Mobility team successfully completed a first-of-its-kind power beaming test at NASA Glenn on June 4, 2025. Later this year, the tested transmitter will be used in a demonstration to wirelessly transmit power using microwaves to a custom power receiver — a step toward gap-filling technology that could one day deliver power on the surface of the Moon or Mars. Pictured from left to right are Hayden Klopp, Rebecca Buehrle, Kerry Johnson, Avery Brock, Seth Schisler, Vladimir Volman, Seth Waldstein, David Rinehart, Rocco Viggiano, and Donald Dornbusch.

STS055-203-034 (26 April-6 May 1993) --- Astronaut Steven R. Nagel, STS-55 mission commander, has found an isolated station in the D-2 science module from which to talk to students on Earth. Like many before it, the seven member crew participated in communications with students and licensed radio operators via the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX). Photo credit: NASA

This infrared photograph shows the uplink laser beacon for NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment beaming into the night sky from the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood, California. Attached to the agency's Psyche spacecraft, the DSOC flight laser transceiver can receive and send data from Earth in encoded photons. As the experiment's ground laser transmitter, OCTL transmits at an infrared wavelength of 1,064 nanometers from its 3.3-foot-aperture (1-meter) telescope. The telescope can also receive faint infrared photons (at a wavelength of 1,550 nanometers) from the 4-watt flight laser transceiver on Psyche. Neither infrared wavelength is easily absorbed or scattered by Earth's atmosphere, making both ideal for deep space optical communications. To receive the most distant signals from Psyche, the project enlisted the powerful 200-inch-aperture (5-meter) Hale Telescope at Caltech's Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, as its primary downlink station, which provided adequate light-collecting area to capture the faintest photons. Those photons were then directed to a cryogenically cooled superconducting high-efficiency detector array at the observatory where the information encoded in the photons could be processed. Managed by JPL, DSOC was designed to demonstrate that data encoded in laser photons could be reliably transmitted, received, and then decoded after traveling millions of miles from Earth out to Mars distances. Nearly two years after launching aboard the agency's Psyche mission in 2023, the demonstration completed its 65th and final "pass" on Sept. 2, 2025, sending a laser signal to Psyche and receiving the return signal from 218 million miles (350 million kilometers) away. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26662

STS043-04-038 (2-11 Aug 1991) --- Astronaut James C. Adamson, STS-43 mission specialist, checks on an experiment on Atlantis? flight deck. Part of the experiment, Optical Communications Through the Shuttle Window (OCTW), can be seen mounted in upper right. The OCTW system consists of two modules, one inside the orbiter crew cabin (as pictured here) and one in the payload bay. The crew compartment version houses an optoelectronic transmitter/receiver pair for video and digital subsystems, test circuitry and interface circuitry. The payload bay module serves as a repeater station. During operation a signal is transmitted through the shuttle window to a bundle of optical fiber cables mounted in the payload bay near an aft window. The cables carry optical signals from the crew compartment equipment to the OCTW payload bay module. The signals are returned via optical fiber cable to the aft flight deck window, retransmitted through the window, and received by the crew compartment equipment.

In this infrared photograph, the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood, California, beams its eight-laser beacon (at a total power of 1.4 kilowatts) to the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) flight laser transceiver aboard NASA's Psyche spacecraft. The photo was taken on June 2, 2025, when Psyche was about 143 million miles (230 million kilometers) from Earth. The faint purple crescent just left of center and near the laser beam is a lens flare caused by a bright light (out of frame) reflecting inside the camera lens. As the experiment's ground laser transmitter, OCTL transmits at an infrared wavelength of 1,064 nanometers from its 3.3-foot-aperture (1-meter) telescope. The telescope can also receive faint infrared photons (at a wavelength of 1,550 nanometers) from the 4-watt flight laser transceiver on Psyche. Neither infrared wavelength is easily absorbed or scattered by Earth's atmosphere, making both ideal for deep space optical communications. To receive the most distant signals from Psyche, the project enlisted the powerful 200-inch-aperture (5-meter) Hale Telescope at Caltech's Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, as its primary downlink station, which provided adequate light-collecting area to capture the faintest photons. Those photons were then directed to a cryogenically cooled superconducting high-efficiency detector array at the observatory where the information encoded in the photons could be processed. Managed by JPL, DSOC was designed to demonstrate that data encoded in laser photons could be reliably transmitted, received, and then decoded after traveling millions of miles from Earth out to Mars distances. Nearly two years after launching aboard the agency's Psyche mission in 2023, the demonstration completed its 65th and final "pass" on Sept. 2, 2025, sending a laser signal to Psyche and receiving the return signal from 218 million miles (350 million kilometers) away. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26661

This is a view of the video camera mounted on the External Tank (ET) of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis (STS-112). The camera provided a view of the front and belly of the orbiter, a portion of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), and ET during the launch. Located high on the ET liquid oxygen tank cable tray, the camera, 6 inches long and resembling a short thin flashlight, is inside an aluminum fairing covered in protective insulating foam. The battery pack and transmitter are contained in an electronics box and mounted in the intertank crossbeam inside the ET. The camera turned on 15 minutes prior to launch and operated for about 15 minutes following liftoff. At liftoff, viewers saw the Shuttle clearing the launch tower and, at 2 minutes after liftoff, saw the right SRB separate from the ET, and ET separation about 8 minutes into the flight. The video was downlinked from the ET during flight to several NASA data-receiving sites and then relayed to the live television broadcast. It provided the STS-112 team an opportunity to monitor the Shuttle's performance from a new angle. Launched on October 7, 2002, Atlantis carried its primary payload, the S1 Truss for the International Space Station.

The new international satellite mission called Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) — slated for launch in late 2022 — will measure the height of Earth's surface water. The data the spacecraft will collect will help researchers understand and track the volume and location of water around the world. The satellite will assist with monitoring changes in floodplains and wetlands, measuring how much fresh water flows into and out of lakes and rivers and back to the ocean, and tracking regional shifts in sea level at scales never seen before. The satellite will also provide information on small-scale ocean currents that will support real-time marine operations affected by tides, currents, storm surge, sediment transport, and water quality issues. The payload is taking shape in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California before being shipped to France. There, technicians and engineers from the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatial (CNES), their prime contractor Thales Alenia Space, and JPL will complete the build and prepare the satellite for shipment to its California launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base. JPL project manager Parag Vaze (pronounced vah-zay) is central to ensuring the handoff to his CNES counterpart Thierry Lafon goes smoothly. SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and CNES, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA). JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the U.S. component of the project. For the flight system, NASA is providing the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, and a two-beam microwave radiometer. CNES is providing the Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) system, nadir altimeter, and the KaRIn RF subsystem (with support from the UKSA). CSA is providing the KaRIn high-power transmitter assembly. NASA is providing associated launch services. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24531

Members of the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission test one of the antennas for the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The mission is a collaborative effort between NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) – with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency. KaRIn is the scientific heart of the SWOT satellite, which will survey the water on more than 90% of Earth's surface, measuring the height of water in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean. To do that, KaRIn will transmit radar pulses to Earth's surface and use its two antennas to triangulate the return signals that bounce back. Mounted at the ends of a boom 33 feet (10 meters) long, the antennas will collect data along a swath 30 miles (50 kilometers) wide on either side of the satellite. KaRIn will operate in two modes: A lower-resolution mode over the ocean will involve significant onboard processing of the data to reduce the volume of information sent during downlinks to Earth; a higher-resolution mode will be used mainly over land. Scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Central California on Dec. 15, 2022, SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and CNES, with contributions from the CSA and the UK Space Agency. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the U.S. component of the project. For the flight system payload, NASA is providing the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, a two-beam microwave radiometer, and NASA instrument operations. CNES is providing the Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) system, the dual frequency Poseidon altimeter (developed by Thales Alenia Space), the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem (together with Thales Alenia Space and with support from the UK Space Agency), the satellite platform, and ground control segment. CSA is providing the KaRIn high-power transmitter assembly. NASA is providing the launch vehicle and associated launch services. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25594

The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite is shown in orbit over Earth in this illustration, with sunlight glinting off one of its solar arrays and both antennas of its Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument extended. The mission is a collaborative effort between NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) – with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency. KaRIn is the scientific heart of the SWOT satellite, which will survey the water on more than 90% of Earth's surface, measuring the height of water in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean. To do that, KaRIn will transmit radar pulses to Earth's surface and use its two antennas to triangulate the return signals that bounce back. Mounted at the ends of a boom 33 feet (10 meters) long, the antennas will collect data along a swath 30 miles (50 kilometers) wide on either side of the satellite. KaRIn will operate in two modes: A lower-resolution mode over the ocean will involve significant onboard processing of the data to reduce the volume of information sent during downlinks to Earth; a higher-resolution mode will be used mainly over land. Scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Central California on Dec. 15, 2022, SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and CNES, with contributions from the CSA and the UK Space Agency. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the U.S. component of the project. For the flight system payload, NASA is providing the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, a two-beam microwave radiometer, and NASA instrument operations. CNES is providing the Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) system, the dual frequency Poseidon altimeter (developed by Thales Alenia Space), the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem (together with Thales Alenia Space and with support from the UK Space Agency), the satellite platform, and ground control segment. CSA is providing the KaRIn high-power transmitter assembly. NASA is providing the launch vehicle and associated launch services. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25595

Workers in a clean room in Cannes, France, load the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite into a container in preparation for shipping the spacecraft to the U.S. SWOT is an international mission led by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) that will survey water on more than 90% of Earth's surface. The spacecraft will view water in Earth's lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean in higher definition than ever before. The information that SWOT gathers will help inform water management decisions and prepare communities for rising seas and changing coastlines. It will also help researchers better understand the exchange of heat and carbon between the ocean and atmosphere, an important component of the role that Earth's ocean plays in the planet's climate. SWOT will launch out of the Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California no earlier than Dec. 5, 2022. SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and CNES, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency and the United Kingdom Space Agency. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the U.S. component of the project. For the flight system payload, NASA is providing the KaRIn instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, a two-beam microwave radiometer, and NASA instrument operations. CNES is providing the Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) system, the dual frequency Poseidon altimeter (developed by Thales Alenia Space), the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem (together with Thales Alenia Space and with support from the UK Space Agency), the platform, and ground control segment. CSA is providing the KaRIn high-power transmitter assembly. NASA is providing the launch vehicle and associated launch services. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24910