The Jason-3 ocean-observing satellite rolled out to the SpaceX launch pad yesterday at the 30th Space Wing (Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.). Launch of this NOAA Satellite and Information Service mission by NASA's Launch Services Program is scheduled for Sunday at 1:42 pm EST. The NASA launch broadcast starts tomorrow at 11 am EST. | NASA Earth

One year ago today, NOAA launched the Jason-3 satellite in to space. After a successful seven-month check-out phase to test its instruments in orbit, Jason-3 is now flying in a low orbit, 830 miles above the Earth. Its radar altimeter monitors 95 percent of the world’s ice-free oceans every 10 days! Since the start of the TOPEX/Poseidon mission in 1992, and continuing with the Jason satellites, researchers have observed global sea-level rise at a rate of 3 millimeters a year, resulting in a tota