SWOT Mission
Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) is a NASA–CNES mission launched on December 16, 2022, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency and UK Space Agency. Its Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) maps water-surface elevations in two swaths spanning about 120 km, separated by a roughly 20 km nadir gap sampled by a conventional altimeter. Observations support ocean-topography studies and measurements of rivers, lakes, reservoirs and wetlands. Following a daily-repeat calibration phase in 2023, SWOT entered its 21-day repeat science orbit. The repeat cycle and swath geometry produce differing local revisit intervals; global coverage does not mean every water body is measured daily.
Schedule, status, and mission updates. Time-based alerts will start when a time is available.
Identity
- Aliases
- SWOTSurface Water and Ocean TopographySurface Water and Ocean Topography Mission
- Name
- SWOT Mission
- Status
- active
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) is a NASA–CNES mission launched on December 16, 2022, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency and UK Space Agency. Its Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) maps water-surface elevations in two swaths spanning about 120 km, separated by a roughly 20 km nadir gap sampled by a conventional altimeter. Observations support ocean-topography studies and measurements of rivers, lakes, reservoirs and wetlands. Following a daily-repeat calibration phase in 2023, SWOT entered its 21-day repeat science orbit. The repeat cycle and swath geometry produce differing local revisit intervals; global coverage does not mean every water body is measured daily.
- Destination
- Non-sun-synchronous Earth orbit at approximately 857 km during calibration, then 891 km at 77.6° inclination with a 21-day repeat cycle
- Outcome
- Successful and active. SWOT launched on 16 December 2022 and now provides global space-based measurements of Earth’s surface water, including ocean-surface topography and observations of lakes, reservoirs, and rivers, supporting hydrology, oceanography, climate, and water-resource research.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 2022-12-16
- Vehicle Families
- -
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swot/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 14, 2026 at 12:49:40 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 29, 2026 at 15:33:09 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles
- -