Sentinel-6 Michael FreilichFalcon 9 Block 5 SpaceX Launch Status Success Sat ยท Nov 21st, 2020 12:17 PM EST Watch Online https://youtu.be/aVFPzTDCihQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm5FnJSIYkw Mission Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich (Sentinel-6A; Jason-CS) Type: Earth Science 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 AFB, CA, USA 83 launches have been at this location. Rocket Falcon 9 Block 5 Length: 70 meters Diameter: 3.65 meters First Launched: May 11, 2018 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. The Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket has been launched a total of 48 times with 48 successful and 0 failed launches. Landing B1063 successfully landed after its first launch. 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. Agency SpaceX Type: Commercial Abbreviation: SpX Administration: CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Launchers: Falcon Spacecraft: Dragon Country: USA 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 has many pads, on the East Coast of the US they own SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral and LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center for their lower inclination launches. They also own SLC-4E at Vandenberg, California for their high inclination launches. Another site is also being developed at Boca Chica, Texas. View Rocket Launch Schedule