• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • NEWS:
  • SatNews
  • SatMagazine
  • MilSatMagazine
  • SmallSat News
  • |     EVENTS:
  • SmallSat Symposium
  • Satellite Innovation
  • MilSat Symposium

SatNews

  • HOME
  • Magazines
  • Events
  • SmallSat Europe Insights
  • Industry Calendar
    • IN PERSON
    • VIRTUAL
  • Subscribe

Sentinel-6 Soars Spacewards Via SpaceX Send-Off

November 22, 2020

At 18:17 (09:17 US Pacific time) on November 21, 2020, the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean-monitoring satellite was successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force base in California.

The mission will continue the unbroken, almost three-decades-long, high-precision measurements of Earth’s oceans from space which provide crucial information about sea level rise and are critical inputs for weather forecasting.

The satellite is named after the late Dr. Michael Freilich, who was Director of NASA’s Earth Science Division and a champion of science and international cooperation.

EUMETSAT will take over operations of the spacecraft in three days’ time and will be responsible for routine operations and processing and disseminating its altimetry data.

EUMETSAT operates the geostationary satellites Meteosat -9, -10 and -11 over Europe and Africa, and Meteosat-8 over the Indian Ocean.

EUMETSAT operates three Metop polar-orbiting satellites as part of the Initial Joint Polar System (IJPS) shared with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The organization is also a partner in the cooperative, sea level monitoring Jason missions (Jason-3 and Jason-CS/Sentinel-6) involving Europe and the United States.

The data and products from EUMETSAT’s satellites are vital to weather forecasting and make a significant contribution to the monitoring of environment and climate change.

Executive Comments

Timo Pesonen

The European Commission’s Director-General for Defence Industry and Space, Mr. Timo Pesonen, said, “We are very pleased to welcome this newcomer to the EU’s fleet of Copernicus Sentinel satellites. Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will enable delivery of enhanced products and information concerning the oceans and the atmosphere to improve the daily lives of our citizens. The arrival of this satellite is another success for Copernicus, for Europe, for all mission partners and worldwide.”

Alain Ratier

EUMETSAT Director-General Alain Ratier said, “With this launch, EUMETSAT will continue its contribution to high-precision ocean altimetry missions, which started with Jason-2. Our responsibility has increased with the Copernicus Sentinel-6 mission, as we developed the ground segment and will perform flight operations. The EUMETSAT teams are ready to take over control of the spacecraft from ESA, three days after launch, and to start processing the first data. Sentinel 6 Michael Freilich data will expand the unique record of mean sea level, whilst improving it and providing measurements closer to the coastline and of unprecedented accuracy. . The data will improve forecasts of high-impact weather and climate features that are strongly influenced by the ocean, like heat waves, tropical cyclones and unusually warm or cold summers and winters.” Ratier added that the mission continues the exemplary cooperation between the US and Europe that began with the launch of TOPEX-Poseidon in 1992.

Dr. Steve Volz

Dr. Steve Volz, Assistant Administrator of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Satellite and Information Service, added, “NOAA will use Sentinel-6 data in many ways, including using sea levels to estimate the heat stored in the upper layer of the ocean, which will help improve hurricane intensity forecasts.“

Thomas Zurbuchen

Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Science at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, said Dr ,Freilich helped ensure NASA was a steadfast partner with scientists and space agencies worldwide. “His love of oceanography and Earth science helped us improve the understanding of our beautiful planet. This satellite, so graciously named for him by our European partners, will carry out the critical work Mike so believed in – adding to a legacy of crucial data about our oceans and paying it forward for the benefit of future generations.”

Josef Aschbacher

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Director of Earth Observation Programs, Josef Aschbacher, noted, “I’m extremely proud to have seen Copernicus Sentinel-6 lift off this evening and know that it’s well on its way to starting its mission of continuing the measurements of sea-level that are so needed to understand and monitor the worrying trend of rising seas. I would not only like to thank the ESA teams that have worked so hard to get to this point, but also the European Commission, EUMETSAT, NASA, NOAA and CNES, and, of course, we very much look forward to further fruitful cooperation between our respective organizations.”

The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites is an intergovernmental organisation based in Darmstadt, Germany, currently with 30 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom).

The European Union has entrusted EUMETSAT with exploiting the four Sentinel missions of the Copernicus space component dedicated to the monitoring of atmosphere, ocean and climate on its behalf. EUMETSAT carries out these tasks in cooperation with ESA and already exploits the Sentinel-3 marine mission.

EUMETSAT has established cooperation with operators of Earth Observation satellites from Europe and China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

Filed Under: Earth Observation (EO), Launch, Satellites

Primary Sidebar

Most Read Stories

  • Space Debris, and the EU’s Space Act
  • In celebration of Juneteenth
  • Wishing Everyone a Happy July 4th … Independence Day, U.S.A.
  • Eutelsat's efforts to obtain funding to save OneWeb
  • Forrester's Digest: Starlink active in Iran

About Satnews

  • Contacts
  • History

Archives

  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020

Secondary Sidebar

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
x
Sign up Now (For Free)
Access daily or weekly satellite news updates covering all aspects of the commercial and military satellite industry.
Invalid email address
Notify Me Regarding ( At least one ):
We value your privacy and will not sell or share your email or other information with any other company. You may also unsubscribe at anytime.

Click Here to see our full privacy policy.
Thanks for subscribing!