![Sentinel-6 Satellite Over California](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Sentinel-6-Satellite-Over-California.gif)
Sentinel-6 Satellite Over California. The Copernicus Sentinel-6 is taking on the role of radar altimetry reference mission, continuing the long-term record of measurements of sea-surface height started in 1992 by the French–US Topex Poseidon and then the Jason series of satellite missions. While Sentinel-6 is one of the European Union’s family of Copernicus satellite missions, its implementation is the result of a unique cooperation between ESA, Eumetsat, NASA and NOAA. The Copernicus Sentinel-6 mission comprises two identical satellites launched five years apart. The first, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, launches on November 21, 2020, from the Space Launch Complex 4 East at the Vandenberg Air Force Base near the city of Lompoc in California, US. Credit: ESA/ATG Medialab
Watch the launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean-monitoring satellite on ESA Web TV on Saturday, November 21 from 17:45 CET (08:45 PST).
Also available at NASA Live.
A joint European-US satellite built to monitor sea-level change, the satellite will liftoff atop a Space X Falcon 9 rocket on 21 November at 17:17 GMT (18:17 CET, 09:17 PST) from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US. The weather will be monitored constantly until the precise moment of liftoff to determine whether or not to authorize the launch.
![Sentinel-6 SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Sentinel-6-SpaceX-Falcon-9-Rocket-777x437.jpg)
This illustration shows the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s nose cone, with the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite inside, shortly before launch. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechSpaceX
Join as experts from all partners in the mission, as well as data users and beneficiaries, discuss details regarding the mission.
Key events after launch (times approximate):
2 minutes and 16 seconds after launch: main engine cut off, second stage separation and then second-engine Start 1 will occur in quick succession. Reusable Falcon 9 first stage then begins its automated boost-back to the launch site for a powered landing.
3 minutes: After protecting the satellite as the rocket traveled through the atmosphere, the launch vehicle’s nose cone will separate and jettisoned.
8 minutes: Stage-II engine cut-off.
53 minutes: Stage-II first restart for a 15 second burn, followed by Stage-II engine cut-off.
58 minutes: launch vehicle and satellite separation.
1 hour and 7 minutes: satellite begins solar panel deployment.
1 hour and 33 minutes: planned first contact for satellite telemetry downlink by ground stations in Alaska.
![Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Satellite Radar Pulse](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Sentinel-6-Michael-Freilich-Satellite-Radar-Pulse.gif)
This animation shows the radar pulse from the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite’s altimeter bouncing off the sea surface in order to measure the height of the ocean. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Charting sea level
The Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is the first of two identical satellites to provide critical measurements of sea-level change.
Once safely in orbit, the satellite will continue the long-term record of reference sea-surface height measurements and extend the records of sea level into its fourth decade. The satellite will map 95% of Earth’s ice-free ocean every 10 days and provide crucial information for operational oceanography and climate studies.
Since sea-level rise is a key indicator of climate change, accurately monitoring the changing height of the sea surface over decades is essential for climate science, for policy-making, and for protecting those in low-lying regions at risk.
The satellite was renamed in honor of Michael H. Freilich, the former director of NASA’s Earth Science Division. The mission is a collaboration between ESA, the European Commission, EUMETSAT, NASA and NOAA, with support from the French space agency CNES.
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