PDS logoPlanetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Click here to return to the Photojournal Home Page Click here to view a list of Photojournal Image Galleries Photojournal_inner_header
Latest Images  |  Spacecraft & Technology  |  Animations  |  Space Images App  |  Feedback  |  Photojournal Search  

PIA25627: SWOT Spacecraft Encapsulated in Payload Fairing
The SWOT water-tracking satellite was encapsulated in its payload fairing on Dec. 8. It will now go atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for a launch targeting Dec. 15, 2022.
 Mission:  Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) 
 Spacecraft:  SWOT
 Product Size:  4912 x 7360 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  NASA 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA25627.tif (90.28 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA25627.jpg (7.032 MB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

Technicians encapsulated the SWOT satellite, or the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission, in its payload fairing on Dec. 8, 2022, in preparation for launch. At the SpaceX processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, technicians completed the operation and will soon mate the fairing to the top of a Falcon 9 rocket. The fairing protects the satellite from aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent. After the rocket escapes Earth's atmosphere, the fairing separates into two halves, which are jettisoned back to Earth.

Once in orbit, SWOT will measure the height of water in freshwater bodies and the ocean on more than 90% of Earth's surface. This information will provide insights into how the ocean influences climate change; how a warming world affects lakes, rivers, and reservoirs; and how communities can better prepare for disasters, such as floods.

SWOT is a collaborative effort by NASA and France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and UK Space Agency.

Launch is targeted for Dec. 15, 2022, at 3:46 a.m. PST from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Image Credit:
USSF 30th Space Wing/Joshua Duff

Image Addition Date:
2022-12-09