Pass locator

Use Google Earth to check a pass number for:

• Saral, ERS-2 (geodesic phase) and Envisat (before October 22th 2010: orbit change),
• Envisat new orbit (theoretical tracks extension phase - beyond November 2010, not strictly repetitive),
• Referenced oribt: Jason-2 / Jason-1 (before February 2009) / Topex/Poseidon (before August 2002),
• Interlaced orbit: Jason-1 (after february 2009) and Topex/Poseidon (after September 2002) ,
• GFO

(.kmz files)

Summary: Topex/Poseidon was launched on 1992 on a referenced orbit which was assumed by Jason-1 (on December 2001) and OSTM/Jason-2 (on June 2008). At the end of the Jason-1's calibration phase on September 2002, Topex/Poseidon was shifted on a new orbit, called interleaved orbit, on the midway of its old ground tracks. In the same way, at the end of OSTM/Jason-2's calibration phase on January-February 2009, Jason-1 was also shifted on the same Topex/Poseidon interleaved orbit. In order to better suit for real-time applications, Jason-1 also undergone a temporal shift with a time lag of approximately 5 days with respect to OSTM/Jason-2. In other words, when Jason-1 begins a new cycle with the pass #001, OSTM/Jason-2 begins the pass #127 (on the same cycle).