NASA, SpaceX launch Sentinel-6B satellite to track Earth’s oceans

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched a satellite in collaboration with SpaceX and its partners on Sunday to provide ocean and atmospheric information, enhancing hurricane forecasts, protecting infrastructure, and benefiting commercial activities, such as shipping.

The Sentinel-6B, about the size of a full-size pickup truck, lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California at 9:21 p.m. PST on November 16. About 1.5 hours later, the ground station made contact with the satellite in Northern Canada at 10:54 p.m. All systems are reported to be functioning normally.

Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, stated, “Understanding tidal patterns down to the inch is critical in protecting how we use our oceans every day on Earth.”

“Sentinel-6B will build upon the legacy of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich by making sea level measurements that improve forecasts used by communities, businesses, and operations across the country. It will also support a safer reentry for our astronauts returning home, including crew from Artemis Moon missions,” he added.

The satellite will measure sea levels precisely across both local and global scales, despite the natural variation from place to place, from its position in low Earth orbit, hundreds of miles above. Sentinel-6B will take over for Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, which launched in 2020 and later became the official reference satellite for global sea level measurements, delivering sea surface height measurements against which those from other satellites are compared for accuracy.

The Sentinel-6B satellite is a collaborative effort involving NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), part of the EU’s Copernicus missions. It follows the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite and aims to provide essential data on climate change and ocean health.

“Collaboration is crucial for missions like Sentinel-6. This achievement showcases the power of international partnerships in addressing global challenges. Sentinel-6B will gather data on wind speeds, wave heights, temperature, and humidity, which can aid in marine weather forecasting and understanding ocean dynamics,” said Simonetta Cheli of ESA.

The Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS (Continuity of Service) mission, comprising two satellites, is the latest in the series of ocean-observing radar altimetry projects that have been tracking Earth’s shifting seas since the early 1990s.

Like its predecessor, Sentinel-6B will measure wind speeds, wave heights, ambient temperature, and humidity. By analyzing sea surface height variations, researchers can identify warmer ocean areas, which aids in forecasting marine weather and hurricane development. Additionally, sea surface measurements reveal interactions between currents, such as the Gulf Stream and surrounding waves, which can create rough seas and pose hazards to large ships.

Karen St. Germain, Director of NASA’s Earth Science Division, emphasized the satellite’s role in providing essential information for coastal communities, shipping, and emergency response.

“Sentinel-6B will collect ocean surface observations that will inform decisions critical to coastal communities, commercial shipping and fishing, national defense, and emergency preparedness and response. This is what NASA does — puts advanced technology and science into action for the benefit of the nation,” he mentioned.

When Sentinel-6B reaches its operating elevation, the satellite will fly about 30 seconds behind Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, which carries identical science instruments. Once the mission finishes cross-calibrating the data collected by the two, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will transition into a different orbit, and Sentinel-6B will take over the role of the official reference satellite, orbiting Earth approximately 13 times a day at an altitude of 830 miles (1,336 kilometers) above the surface.

Dave Gallagher, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, highlighted the satellite’s advanced technology, which is capable of measuring 90% of Earth’s oceans with precision down to fractions of an inch, adding to a critical dataset for global stakeholders.