Jason-3 was launched 7 years ago, put on the "historical" orbit of Topex/Poseidon, Jason-1 and 2.

Last year, in April 2022, it was shifted, leaving Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich alone on this orbit after the cross-calibration of the two missions. With this orbit shift, the satellite measures halfway between historical tracks, providing more altimetry measurements, leading to more resolution over ocean features.

The series of altimetry satellites initiated by Nasa and Cnes in 1992 is still going on. They have been measuring sea level with a very high accuracy for more than 30 years now. The series is now maintained by Europe, through the Sentinel program, and by the United States. On the other hand, a new part of the cooperation between Cnes and Nasa has recently been deployed with the launch of Swot one month ago.