SpaceX has won another contract from NASA to launch one of the agency’s Earth science satellites in less than five years. The satellite in question is the Surface Water and Ocean Topography vehicle, or SWOT, and it’s designed to scan the planet’s oceans and provide the “first-ever global survey of Earth’s surface water.” The satellite will ride to space on one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets, with a target launch date of April 2021 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
“We appreciate NASA’s partnership and confidence.”
It marks yet another critical science mission that SpaceX will be launching for NASA. The company launched the Jason-3 ocean-monitoring satellite for the space agency in January, and in 2017 SpaceX is supposed to launch NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, designed to look for small planets around bright stars outside our Solar System.
“We’re excited to carry this critical science payload into orbit for NASA, the nation, and the international community,” SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said in a statement. “We appreciate NASA’s partnership and confidence in SpaceX as a launch provider.”
A rendering of the SWOT satellite
NASA
The total cost of launching SWOT is valued at $112 million, according to NASA, which seems a little pricey given SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets supposedly start at $62 million. Plus, it’s a much higher value than previous launch contracts NASA has awarded to SpaceX; the cost of launching the Jason-3 satellite was valued at $82 million, and the cost of launching TESS is $87 million.