WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - About the size of a full-size pickup truck, a newly launched satellite by NASA and its partners will provide ocean and atmospheric information to improve hurricane forecasts, help protect infrastructure, and benefit commercial activities, such as shipping.
The Sentinel-6B satellite lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California at 9:21 p.m. PST on Sunday. Mission controllers received signals from the spacecraft a few hours later, NASA said.
After cross-calibrating its data, Sentinel-6B will take over from Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, launched in 2020, to monitor sea levels, measure wind and wave conditions, and improve both short and long-term weather predictions. It is expected to fly until at least 2030.
Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS is a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The European Commission provided funding support, and the French space agency CNES contributed technical support.
'Understanding tidal patterns down to the inch is critical in protecting how we use our oceans every day on Earth,' said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 'Sentinel-6B will build upon the legacy of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich by making sea level measurements that improve forecasts used by communities, businesses, and operations across the country. It also will support a safer reentry for our astronauts returning home, including crew from Artemis Moon missions.'
Sea levels vary from place to place, and the satellite will provide accurate measurements at both local and global scales - all from hundreds of miles above in low Earth orbit. Those observations form the basis for U.S. flood predictions, which are crucial for safeguarding coastal infrastructure, real estate, energy storage sites, and other coastal assets.
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