In the summer of 1974 JPL was selected to manage the Seasat project and in October the project office was formed. Seasat launched June 26, 1978, and was active for 4 months, ending operations in October. It was the first Earth-orbiting satellite designed to study the oceans. There were four experiments which included the Radar Altimeter (ALT) to measure ocean surface topography by measuring spacecraft altitude above the ocean surface; the Seasat-A Satellite Scatterometer (SASS), to measure wind speed and direction over the ocean; the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) to measure surface wind speed, ocean surface temperature, atmospheric water vapor content, rain rate, and ice coverage; and the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), to image the ocean surface, polar ice caps, and coastal regions.
From the description of Seasat Project Manager Records 1974 to 1979. (Jet Propulsion Laboratory Library and Archives). WorldCat record id: 733102744
