Streaming Coverage Begins for Sentinel-6B Launch
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 satellites continuously observing the Earth’s oceans using high-precision radar altimetry for more than 30 years. It follows its twin, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, which launched five years ago from the same location on Nov. 21, 2020.
Sentinel-6B will contribute to a multidecade dataset that is the gold standard for sea level measurements from space. 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 humidity. The data helps scientists to forecast how much the ocean could encroach on coastlines, improve weather forecasts and hurricane predictions, and advance the study of ocean tides and phenomena like El Niño and La Niña.
The satellite will extend the gold-standard dataset of surface sea heights until at least 2030. It also will provide measurements of wind and wave conditions, which help improve short-term weather predictions and long-term forecasting of seasonal conditions.
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