SWOT spacecraft is moved into a transport container inside the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 18, 2022. The satellite will be transported to the SpaceX facility at Vandenberg. SWOT is the first mission that will observe nearly all water on Earth’s surface, measuring the height of water in the planet’s lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean. It is set to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in December from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Center-4 East. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch service. Credits: USSF 30th Space Wing/Chris Okula. |