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Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich

Falcon 9 Block 5

SpaceX

Launch Status
Success

Weather Forecast During Launch


According to weather officials, there’s a 80% chance of favorable weather conditions at the time of the launch.

Mission


Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich (Sentinel-6A; Jason-CS)

  • Type: Earth Science
  • Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
  • Launch Cost: $52,000,000

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich and Sentinel-6B make up the Sentinel-6 mission, also known as Jason Continuity of Service (Jason-CS), which is a partnership between NASA, NOAA, ESA, and EUMETSAT. This mission continues the long-term global sea surface height data record begun by first Jason satellites in 1992.

Named after former NASA Earth Science Division Director Michael Freilich, Sentinel-6 Michail Freilich will provide altimeter data necessary for ocean climate monitoring, ocean modelling and numerical ocean prediction, weather forecasting, marine meteorology, coastal altimetry and modelling. A secondary objective of the mission is to collect high-resolution vertical profiles of temperature, using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Radio-Occultation sounding technique, to assess temperature changes in the troposphere and stratosphere and to support numerical weather prediction.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is to operate in a highly-inclined circular orbit at an altitude of 1336 km, with an operational mission lasting 5 years. Near-identical Sentinel-6B is planned to follow-up shortly after.

Location


Space Launch Complex 4E

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Space Launch Complex 4E has witnessed the launch of 138 rockets, including 138 orbital launch attempts, while Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA, has been the site for 749 rocket launches.

Space Launch Complex 4E

Rocket


SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

Falcon 9 Block 5

Landing


Core B1063

Booster B1063 last launched 03/11/2024 and has seen 17 successful launches and landings. Notable launches include Sentinel-6 and Dart.

Landing Zone 4 – LZ-4

LZ at Vandenberg

Return to Launch Site – RTLS

A return to launch site usually means that after stage separation the booster flips and does a burn back towards the launch site, landing near where it initially launched from.

B1063

Agency


SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.

SpaceX
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