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  • NASA Launch Manager Gives ‘Go’ for Launch

    The NASA launch manager, Tim Dunn, has just given a “go” for launch for the Sentinel-6B satellite.

    This will be the third flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission. Launch is coming up momentarily.

  • Second Stage Fueling Underway for Sentinel-6B Launch

    Image shows a white Space X rocket with NASA's Sentinel-6B atop the rocket in California. Photo credit: NASA

    Fueling is underway for the second stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Sentinel-6B, part of a joint mission led by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with funding support from the European Commission and technical support […]

  • Meet Sentinel-6B Satellite

    In this illustration, the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft, the world's latest sea-level satellite, orbits Earth with its deployable solar panels extended.

    Once Sentinel-6B launches, the satellite and its six science instruments are expected to spend the next 5.5 years in orbit collecting data on the rising sea levels and the impacts for us on Earth. The satellite is about the size of a small pickup truck at 19.1 feet (5.82 meters) long, 7.74 feet (2.36 meters) […]

  • First Stage Fueling Begins

    Mission managers polled “go” to begin fueling the SpaceX Falcon 9 with just under 40 minutes remaining until launch. Rocket Grade Kerosene, or RP1, now is loading into the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket first stage booster, while liquid oxygen, or LOX, is loading into the rocket’s first stage. These propellants will power the stage’s nine Merlin engines. Propellant loading for the second stage will begin shortly.

    The first stage will propel the second stage and the Sentinel-6B satellite to its designed location before returning to Earth, where SpaceX plans to recover it at Landing Zone 4.

  • Streaming Coverage Begins for Sentinel-6B Launch

    Night time image shows a white SpaceX rocket at the launch pad in California on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. Atop the rocket is a white payload fairing encapsulating NASA's Sentinel-6B spacecraft

    Live coverage is underway for launch of Sentinel-6B from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Weather remains 90% favorable with thick clouds and cumulus clouds as the possible weather violations during the 12:21 a.m. EST (9:21 p.m. PST Sunday, Nov. 16) liftoff. Sentinel-6B is part of a series of […]

  • Sentinel-6B: Monitoring Earth’s Sea-Levels

    Artist’s concept illustration showing a gold-colored satellite at the center of the image with a black, star-filled background behind it. The Earth’s surface, blue and cloud-covered, fills the lower-left corner of the frame, from the center-left edge to the bottom-center of the frame. On the surface directly below the satellite, a spiral hurricane is visible. The satellite is shaped like a house with a peaked roof, viewed from an angle, with the pentagon-shaped front and left side side both facing the viewer. The satellite’s solar arrays form what looks like a very wide peaked roof atop the satellite, extending far beyond the side walls. Underneath the satellite, a silver cone-shaped instrument points down toward Earth. Another instrument on the front side, shaped like a silver frying pan, also faces toward Earth. In the upper right corner of the image is bright lens flare from the Sun, out of frame.

    The launch of Sentinel-6B will continue a joint mission between NASA and its European partners to monitor sea levels. This data is key to helping improve public safety, city planning, and protecting commercial and defense interests. Along with measuring global sea level rise and ocean circulation, the satellites record vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and […]

  • NASA Shares Sentinel-6B Launch Milestones

    Image shows night time with a closeup view with a white payload fairing with NASA's Sentinel-6 Satellite inside.

    NASA and its launch partners are tracking several events during countdown and launch of Sentinel-6B aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Time | Events (all times are approximate): -00:43:00 | NASA launch manager propellant load and launch readiness poll-00:38:00 | SpaceX launch director verifies “go” for propellant load-00:35:00 […]

  • Coverage Begins for Sentinel-6B Launch

    Night time image shows a white SpaceX rocket at the launch pad in California on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. Atop the rocket is a white payload fairing encapsulating NASA's Sentinel-6B spacecraft

    Coverage is underway for launch of the Sentinel-6B spacecraft, the newest international sea level measurement satellite mission jointly developed by NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with funding support from the European Commission and technical support from the […]

  • NASA’s Sentinel-6B Spacecraft, Rocket Vertical on Pad Ahead of Launch

    Image shows sunny skies with a rocket with a NASA spacecraft atop standing vertical at the pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025

    The SpaceX rocket carrying the international Sentinel-6B satellite stands vertical on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 12:21 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 17 (9:21 p.m. PST Sunday, Nov. 16). Weather officials with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 30 predict […]