Jason-3

Jason-3 is the reference ocean-altimetry satellite launched 17 January 2016 by NASA, NOAA, CNES, and EUMETSAT, continuing the sea surface height record from TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 and -2. It flies the Poseidon-3B dual-frequency Ku and C-band radar altimeter on the 9.9156-day, 1336 km repeat orbit, measuring sea surface height to about 3.3 cm, plus significant wave height and wind speed. Dual frequencies correct the ionospheric path delay; an onboard radiometer corrects wet troposphere. Jason-3 underpins sea level rise monitoring and operational eddy and current analysis, and it flew in tandem with Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich to cross-calibrate the handover.