Watch: Sentinel-6B launch live broadcast
Sentinel-6B, the next sea-level monitoring satellite for the Copernicus Earth observation programme, is ready for launch at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in just a few days. Here’s how you can watch the liftoff live on ESA Web TV.
Launch with SpaceX on Falcon 9 is expected at 06:21 CET on Monday, 17 November (21:21 Pacific Time, on Sunday, 16 November). The live coverage will start at 05:30 CET.
Please note: launch times are subject to change at short notice. This page will be updated as soon as information becomes available, so please check back or bookmark the article.
Follow the launch live
Here is the programme schedule for the liftoff of Copernicus Sentinel-6B, live on ESA WebTV Monday, 17 November (all times in CET).
- 05:30 – broadcast begins (streaming from NASA)
- 05:52 – switch to streaming from SpaceX
- 06:21 – Sentinel-6B liftoff
- 07:28 – broadcast ends
About Sentinel-6B
Sentinel-6B follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, which was launched in 2020. The mission is the reference radar altimetry mission that continues the vital record of sea-surface height measurements until at least 2030.
Sentinel-6B will operate together with its sibling during its first year, enabling greater accuracy with precise cross-calibration between the two instruments.
Monitoring sea-level rise is high on the global agenda. In the past 25 years, the average height of the world’s oceans has risen by almost 10 cm, according to data from Copernicus. The Copernicus Sentinel-6 mission has become the gold standard reference mission to monitor and record this key consequence of climate change. The mission builds on heritage from the French–US Jason series, ESA’s CryoSat and the Copernicus Sentinel-3 missions.
Sentinel-6 is the result of cooperation between the European Commission, ESA, NASA, Eumetsat, and NOAA, with support from CNES, the French space agency. The prime contractor for the mission is Airbus Defence and Space in Germany with Thales Alenia Space in France responsible for the altimeter.
Poseidon-4 monitors the waves
The main instrument on Sentinel-6 is the Poseidon-4 dual-frequency (C-band and Ku-band) radar altimeter. Developed by ESA, the altimeter measures sea-surface height. It also captures the height of ‘significant’ waves as well as wind speed to support operational oceanography.
The Poseidon-4 altimeter is supported by an advanced microwave radiometer, provided by NASA. Water in the atmosphere affects the speed of the altimeter’s radar pulses – and therefore the estimates of sea-surface height. The advanced microwave radiometer determines the water content in the atmosphere for accurately correcting the radar measurements.
