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At Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to boost the Jason-3 spacecraft into orbit for NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and EUMETSAT, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.

Built by Thales Alenia of France, Jason-3 will measure the topography of the ocean surface for a four-agency international partnership consisting of NOAA, NASA, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, France’s space agency, and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.