International Laser Ranging Service

Jason-2: Mission Support

Jump to: Mission Support Status, Current Tracking Statistics, Mission Support Request

ILRS Mission Support Status:

Precision orbit determination is a fundamental requirement for achieving the goal of Jason-2. Jason-2 also has GPS receivers. The SLR data provides a crucial centering of the orbit relative to the Earth's center of mass. SLR also provides the only absolute calibration of the radial orbit error through the analysis of high elevation SLR passes.

Current ILRS Tracking Statistics: (as of 07-Feb-2022 00:00:04)

Satellite	Site Name	Station	Start Date	End Date	No. Passes	No. Points
JASON-2	Altay	1879	2012-07-12 17:51:45	2017-08-30 21:04:39	59	1,041
JASON-2	Arequipa	7403	2012-05-03 04:38:37	2019-09-26 04:23:02	1,371	19,787
JASON-2	Arkhyz	1886	2012-05-02 18:54:32	2019-09-23 18:06:29	554	5,660
JASON-2	Badary	1890	2012-05-02 15:06:39	2018-10-13 08:22:22	1,345	21,382
JASON-2	Beijing	7249	2012-05-02 15:12:24	2019-09-28 13:47:06	725	8,345
JASON-2	Borowiec	7811	2016-02-09 01:01:10	2019-09-23 19:57:42	267	6,181
JASON-2	Brasilia	7407	2014-05-12 21:19:26	2019-09-24 13:53:48	169	862
JASON-2	Changchun	7237	2012-05-01 14:47:43	2019-10-02 12:53:30	5,770	63,231
JASON-2	Concepcion	7405	2012-05-02 16:10:21	2014-03-25 17:44:45	218	2,791
JASON-2	Daejon	7359	2013-08-15 13:44:57	2014-11-14 18:36:53	74	1,687
JASON-2	Grasse	7845	2012-05-02 20:50:05	2018-04-05 12:30:26	2,648	111,017
JASON-2	Graz	7839	2012-05-02 12:48:12	2020-07-06 00:40:24	2,722	67,738
JASON-2	Greenbelt	7125	2013-05-29 19:31:30	2014-05-13 13:25:00	22	260
JASON-2	Greenbelt	7105	2012-05-02 03:56:08	2019-10-01 23:47:09	2,870	69,706
JASON-2	Haleakala	7119	2012-05-01 09:18:55	2019-10-01 21:19:24	1,115	22,941
JASON-2	Hartebeesthoek	7501	2012-05-01 22:42:21	2019-09-30 22:07:27	1,703	39,531
JASON-2	Hartebeesthoek	7503	2018-01-02 18:05:28	2019-09-23 22:21:06	142	1,355
JASON-2	Herstmonceux	7840	2012-05-01 14:27:01	2019-10-02 20:18:23	3,133	63,240
JASON-2	Irkutsk	1891	2015-07-15 15:50:32	2019-09-26 09:18:31	421	4,234
JASON-2	Katzively	1893	2012-05-01 18:31:13	2019-10-01 18:11:12	1,110	13,653
JASON-2	Kiev	1824	2012-05-01 18:29:05	2019-10-02 18:25:43	707	6,112
JASON-2	Koganei	7308	2012-05-05 12:36:17	2014-03-12 09:45:36	86	1,589
JASON-2	Komsomolsk	1868	2012-11-18 19:39:16	2017-06-25 14:05:52	43	732
JASON-2	Kunming	7820	2012-12-28 15:22:00	2017-01-12 14:28:59	152	3,221
JASON-2	Kunming	7819	2017-01-23 12:47:59	2019-09-29 15:56:00	442	6,325
JASON-2	Matera	7941	2012-05-17 16:50:59	2019-10-02 20:23:33	2,619	46,280
JASON-2	McDonald	7080	2012-05-12 03:52:06	2018-09-12 00:51:36	408	5,343
JASON-2	Mendeleevo	1874	2014-11-18 15:50:16	2019-05-20 20:23:07	129	3,085
JASON-2	Monument Peak	7110	2012-05-02 20:17:11	2019-10-03 20:06:48	2,143	55,676
JASON-2	Mount Stromlo	7825	2012-05-01 00:46:04	2019-09-30 00:17:07	4,073	74,671
JASON-2	Potsdam	7841	2012-05-01 20:21:30	2019-09-22 21:38:57	2,515	55,163
JASON-2	Riga	1884	2012-05-01 20:21:07	2019-09-26 20:41:35	384	8,618
JASON-2	San Fernando	7824	2012-05-01 22:20:51	2017-06-05 03:12:47	736	10,529
JASON-2	San Juan	7406	2012-05-03 04:44:43	2014-11-16 08:23:15	737	15,557
JASON-2	Sejong	7394	2016-02-04 13:57:42	2018-12-09 15:47:11	89	1,618
JASON-2	Shanghai	7821	2012-05-02 15:13:11	2019-10-02 12:54:00	1,098	11,537
JASON-2	Simeiz	1873	2012-05-01 20:24:59	2019-10-03 18:38:36	1,241	18,081
JASON-2	Simosato	7838	2012-05-09 12:09:07	2019-09-25 13:09:42	635	15,409
JASON-2	Svetloe	1888	2012-05-01 20:20:43	2019-10-01 12:26:03	965	13,816
JASON-2	Tahiti	7124	2012-05-01 11:25:34	2019-05-29 21:52:49	606	14,322
JASON-2	Tanegashima	7358	2012-05-11 12:53:44	2014-07-17 08:37:08	15	271
JASON-2	Wettzell	8834	2012-05-01 12:32:24	2019-10-01 10:22:48	2,966	34,942
JASON-2	Wettzell	7827	2014-04-17 11:34:12	2019-09-29 13:41:38	1,042	13,616
JASON-2	Wuhan	7396	2019-07-19 17:11:02	2019-09-29 14:02:44	36	345
JASON-2	Yarragadee	7090	2012-05-01 02:41:23	2019-10-03 01:09:33	7,260	185,627
JASON-2	Zelenchukskaya	1889	2012-05-02 18:56:25	2019-07-26 22:39:30	392	5,235
JASON-2	Zimmerwald	7810	2012-05-02 18:46:45	2019-09-29 17:36:22	2,591	62,986

Jason-2 Mission Support Request Form (08-Jun-2007, PDF)

Name: Jason-2
Host: CNES / EUMETSAT / NASA / NOAA

Primary Technical Contact: Gilles Tavernier
Address: CNES, BPi 2002, 18 avenue Edouard Belin
31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, FRANCE
Phone No.: 33 -(0)5 61 27 37 76
FAX No.: 33 -(0)5 61 28 25 95
E-mail Address: gilles.tavernier 'at' cnes.fr

Alternate Technical Contact: Jean-Paul Berthias
Address: CNES, BPi 1421, 18 avenue Edouard Belin
31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, FRANCE
Phone No.: 33 -(0)5 61 28 32 36
FAX No.: 33 -(0)5 61 28 17 48
E-mail Address: jean-paul.berthias 'at' cnes.fr

Primary Science Contact: John Ries
Address: Center for Space Research, R1000
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX 78712 USA
Phone No.: 1 -512 471 7486
Fax No.: 1 -512 471 3570
E-mail Address: ries 'at' csr.utexas.edu

Alternate Science Contacts:
Frank Lemoine
Address: NASA/GSFC Code 698
Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA
Phone No.: 1 -301 614 6109
Fax No.: 1 -301 614 6522
E-mail Address: Frank.Lemoine 'at' gsfc.nasa.gov

John Lillibridge
Address: NOAA/NESDIS/ORA: E/RA31, 1335 East-West Hwy #5344
Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA
Phone No: 1-301-713-2857 x121
Fax No: 1-301-713-3136
E-mail Address: John.Lillibridge 'at' noaa.gov

Mission Specifics:

Scientific or Engineering Objectives of Mission: The Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) is a joint oceanography mission to monitor global ocean circulation, climate change and sea-level rise. The Jason-2 satellite is the follow-on to the TOPEX/POSEIDON and Jason-1 satellites. The satellite will also support the Time Transfer by Laser Link (T2L2) experiment, designed to allow the synchronization of remote ultra-stable clocks and the determination of their performances over intercontinental distances. Two other instruments, LPT (Light Particle Telescope) and Carmen-2, will study the radiation environment at the Jason-2 altitude.

Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) Role of Mission: Precision orbit determination is a fundamental requirement for achieving the goals of the OSTM. The SLR data play an important role in two ways (1) providing strong tracking information to complement GPS and DORIS, and (2) providing a unique and unambiguous verification of the absolute radial orbit accuracy. The T2L2 experiment also depends entirely on the SLR tracking.

Anticipated Launch Date: June 15, 2008
Expected Mission Duration: 3-5 years
Web sites for Jason-2:

http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ostm.html (NASA)
http://www.aviso.oceanobs.com/html/missions/jason2/welcome_uk.html (AVISO)
http://smsc.cnes.fr/JASON2/Fr/ (CNES)
http://www.osd.noaa.gov/ostm/index.htm (NOAA)

Jason-2 T2L2 Experiment Technical Contact: Etienne Samain
Address: OCA UMR Gemini, Avenue Nicolas Copernic
06130 Grasse FRANCE
Phone no.: 33 - (0)4 93 40 54 29
E-mail: etienne.samain 'at' obs-azur.fr
Website: http://www.obs-azur.fr/gemini/projets/t2l2/

Anticipated Orbital Parameters:

Altitude: 1336 km
Inclination: 66 degrees
Eccentricity: ~0.001

Tracking Requirements:

Tracking Schedule: 24 hours, 7 days a week
Spatial Coverage: global
Temporal Coverage: as dense a possible
Data Accuracy: cm or better

Operations Requirements:

Mission Coordinator (ILRS, Subnetwork, etc.):
Priority of SLR for POD: high priority (essential for best POD; critical for orbit accuracy verification)
Other Sources of POD (GPS, PRARE, Doppler, etc.): GPS and DORIS
Primary Analysis Center: CNES
Normal Point Time Span (sec): 15-20 seconds
Data Delivery Time Requirements: 24 hours where possible; a few days otherwise
Subnetworks/Stations Requested to Track: During the initial phase of the Jason-2 mission, Jason-1 and Jason-2 will fly in tandem mode for several months (on the same ground track separated by approximately one minute). Interleaving tracking between both satellites is the preferred mode as long as the data loss due to switching is small; this applies primarily for higher maximum elevation (i.e. longer) passes. For stations where interleaving would lead to sparse tracking or for lower elevation (i.e. shorter) passes, tracking alternate passes is preferred.

Retroreflector Array Information:

Description of Array and Location: 16 cm hemispherical array consisting of 9 corner cubes on nadir side of satellite (see figure below)
Technical Contact for Array Correction/Center of Mass: Parag Vaze
Phone No.: 1 - 818 393 1217
E-mail: parag.vaze 'at' jpl.nasa.gov
Other Comments: Reflector array and physical location identical to Jason-1; location of center of mass to be specified after launch. The LRA has an unobstructed field of view of 120°.

Spacecraft Configuration:

Figure: Exploded view of OSTM/Jason-2 spacecraft (from http://www.jason.oceanobs.com/html/missions/jason2/instruments)