Launch of satellite to track sea levels set for June 20

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The launch of a US-French satellite that will track rising sea levels and ocean currents has been rescheduled for next Friday, US space agency NASA said.

The California launch of Jason 2 had been set for June 15 but was delayed.

NASA said Jason 2 will take off at 1946 GMT from Vandenberg air force base aboard a Delta 2 rocket and go into orbit some 10 kilometres (six miles) above its predecessor Jason 1, which circles Earth at a distance of 1,335 kilometres (830 miles).

The new satellite will then use its own engines to maneuver into the same orbit as Jason 1.

Rising sea levels is one of the most serious consequences of global warming, threatening dozens of island nations and massively populated delta regions, especially in Asia...