JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo

Seasat

Seasat

One of the earliest Earth-observing satellites, Seasat was designed to test various oceanographic sensors and gain a better understanding of Earth's seas.

Mission Statistics

Launch Date

June 26, 1978

Type

Orbiter

Target

Earth

Status

Past

About the mission

One of the earliest Earth-observing satellites, Seasat was designed to test various oceanographic sensors and gain a better understanding of Earth's seas.

Seasat operated in Earth orbit for 105 days, measuring sea-surface winds and temperatures, wave heights, atmospheric liquid water content, sea ice features and ocean topography, before a massive short circuit in the spacecraft's electrical system ended the mission on October 10, 1978.

Instruments

  • Radar altimeter
  • Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
  • SEASAT-A Satellite Scatterometer (SASS)
  • Visible and Infrared Radiometer (VIRR)
  • Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR)

More about Earth and Weather

Event April 20, 2023 .

Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) Mission

News .

Joint NASA, CNES Water-Tracking Satellite Reveals First Stunning Views

Image .

Sea Level Visualization of Gulf Stream

Image .

SWOT Satellite's Land 'First Light'

Image .

SWOT Satellite's Sea Level 'First Light'

Image .

Mir Diamond Mine, Siberia

News .

NASA Uses 30-Year Satellite Record to Track and Project Rising Seas

Image .

30 Years of Sea Level Rise

News .

Ranking Atmospheric Rivers: New Study Finds World of Potential

News .

Ranking Atmospheric Rivers: New Study Finds World of Potential

› Seasat Information on National Space Science Data Center

Explore Other Missions

Airborne Snow Observatory

ASTER

AVIRIS-NG

Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer

AcrimSat

ECOSTRESS

CloudSat

Deep Space Atomic Clock

Atmospheric Infrared Sounder

Aquarius

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Directions and Maps
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono
CL#: 21-0018