| Satellite |
Jason-2 |
| Launch |
April 2008 |
| Mission |
Measure sea surface height |
| Altitude |
1336 km |
| Inclination |
66° (non-sun-synchronous) |
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Jason-2 is scheduled to take over and continue the missions of Topex/Poseidon and Jason-1 in 2008, in the framework of a cooperation between CNES, NASA, Eumetsat and NOAA. It will carry the same kind of payload as its two predecessors for a high-precision altimetry mission: a Poseidon-class altimeter, a radiometer and three location systems. The orbit will also be identical.
The Jason-2 payload will include the next generation of Poseidon altimeter (Poseidon-3, with the same general characteristics as Poseidon-2, but with a lower instrument noise and an algorithm enabling better tracking over land and ice), and the DORIS location system. The accuracy should be about 2.5 cm for the altimeter measurements.
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