{"id":317522,"date":"2025-11-16T10:02:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T00:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=927124"},"modified":"2025-11-16T10:02:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T00:02:29","slug":"nasa-european-partners-set-to-launch-sentinel-6b-earth-satellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=317522","title":{"rendered":"NASA, European Partners Set to Launch Sentinel-6B Earth Satellite"},"content":{"rendered":"
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5 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Set to launch no earlier than Nov. 16, Sentinel-6B will continue the data record now being collected by its twin satellite Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, which lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in November 2020 aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket shown here.<\/div>\n
SpaceX<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Set to track sea levels across more than 90% of Earth\u2019s ocean, the mission must first get into orbit. Here\u2019s what to expect. <\/em> <\/p>\n

Sentinel-6B, an ocean-tracking satellite jointly developed by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), is ready to roll out to the launch pad, packed into the payload fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.   <\/p>\n

Launch is targeted at 12:21 a.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 17 (9:21 p.m. PST, Sunday, Nov. 16). Once it lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the satellite will ride out a 57-minute sequence of events ending in spacecraft separation, when the satellite detaches from the rocket.  <\/p>\n

Then Sentinel-6B\u2019s real work begins. Orbiting Earth every 112 minutes at 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) per second, the satellite will eventually take over for its twin, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, launched five years ago, to continue a multidecade dataset for sea level measurements from space. Those measurements, along with atmospheric data the mission gathers, will help improve public safety and city planning while protecting coastal infrastructure, including power plants and defense interests. NASA will also use the data to refine atmospheric models that support the safe re-entry of Artemis astronauts.  <\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s a closer look at what lies ahead for the satellite in the coming days.<\/p>\n

Launch timeline<\/strong> <\/h3>\n

Measuring 19.1 feet (5.82 meters) long and 7.74 feet (2.36 meters) high (including the communications antennas), the satellite weighs in at around 2,600 pounds (1,200 kilograms) when loaded with propellant at launch. <\/p>\n

The satellite will lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg. If needed, backup launch opportunities are available on subsequent days, with the 20-second launch window occurring about 12 to 13 minutes earlier each day.  <\/p>\n

A little more than two minutes after the Falcon 9 rocket lifts off, the main engine cuts off. Shortly after, the rocket\u2019s first and second stages separate, followed by second-stage engine start. The reusable Falcon 9 first stage then begins its automated boost-back burn to the launch site for a powered landing. About three minutes after launch, the two halves of the payload fairing, which protected the satellite as it traveled through the atmosphere, separate and fall safely back to Earth.  <\/p>\n

The first cutoff of the second stage engine takes place approximately eight minutes after liftoff, at which point the launch vehicle and the spacecraft will be in a temporary \u201cparking\u201d orbit. The second stage engine fires a second time about 44 minutes later, and about 57 minutes after liftoff, the rocket and the spacecraft separate. Roughly seven minutes after that, the satellite\u2019s solar panels deploy. Sentinel-6B is expected to make first contact with ground controllers about 35 minutes after separation (roughly an hour and a half after liftoff) \u2014 a major milestone indicating that the spacecraft is healthy. <\/p>\n

Science mission<\/strong> <\/h3>\n

Following launch operations, the team will focus on its next challenge: getting the spacecraft ready for science operations. Once in orbit, Sentinel-6B will fly about 30 seconds behind its twin, the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite. When scientists and engineers have completed cross-calibrating the data collected by the two spacecraft, Sentinel-6B will take over the role of providing primary sea level measurements while Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will move into a different orbit. From there, researchers plan to use measurements from Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich for different purposes, including helping to map seafloor features (variations in sea surface height can reveal variations in ocean floor features, such as seamounts).\u00a0<\/p>\n

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