<s>
While	O
past	O
satellite	O
missions	O
like	O
the	O
Jason	B-Algorithm
series	O
altimeters	O
(	O
TOPEX/Poseidon	O
,	O
Jason-1	B-Algorithm
,	O
Jason-2	B-Algorithm
,	O
Jason-3	O
)	O
have	O
provided	O
variation	O
in	O
river	O
and	O
lake	O
water	O
surface	O
elevations	O
at	O
select	O
locations	O
,	O
SWOT	O
will	O
provide	O
the	O
first	O
truly	O
global	O
observations	O
of	O
changing	O
water	O
levels	O
,	O
stream	O
slopes	O
,	O
and	O
inundation	O
extents	O
in	O
rivers	O
,	O
lakes	O
,	O
and	O
floodplains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
partnership	O
began	O
with	O
the	O
TOPEX/Poseidon	O
mission	O
(	O
launched	O
in	O
1992	O
)	O
and	O
continued	O
with	O
the	O
Jason	B-Algorithm
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
instrument	O
on	O
SWOT	O
is	O
the	O
Ka-band	B-Algorithm
Radar	I-Algorithm
Interferometer	I-Algorithm
(	O
KaRIn	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
uses	O
synthetic-aperture	B-Application
radar	I-Application
(	O
SAR	O
)	O
technology	O
,	O
especially	O
SAR	O
interferometry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
SWOT	O
operates	O
at	O
Ka-band	O
'	O
s	O
relatively	O
short	O
wavelengths	O
,	O
–	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
Ku-band	B-Algorithm
Jason	B-Algorithm
series	O
,	O
–	O
and	O
at	O
near-nadir	O
incidence	O
angles	O
(	O
<	O
5°	O
)	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
uniquely	O
appropriate	O
for	O
measuring	O
water	O
surface	O
elevations	O
and	O
inundation	O
extents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
radar	O
system	O
is	O
smaller	O
than	O
,	O
but	O
similar	O
to	O
,	O
the	O
one	O
that	O
flew	O
on	O
NASA	O
's	O
Shuttle	B-Algorithm
Radar	I-Algorithm
Topography	I-Algorithm
Mission	I-Algorithm
(	O
SRTM	B-Algorithm
)	O
,	O
which	O
made	O
high-resolution	O
measurements	O
of	O
Earth	O
's	O
land	O
surface	O
in	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
conventional	O
nadir	O
radar	O
altimeter	O
will	O
also	O
be	O
flown	O
,	O
and	O
measure	O
just	O
beneath	O
the	O
satellite	O
,	O
as	O
was	O
done	O
on	O
the	O
Topex/Poseidon	O
,	O
Jason	B-Algorithm
series	O
,	O
and	O
SARAL	O
missions	O
.	O
</s>
