U.S.-European Earth Observation Satellite Sentinel-6B: Pre-launch | NASA/ESA

U.S.-European Earth Observation Satellite Sentinel-6B: Pre-launch | NASA/ESA

NASA and its U.S. and international partners have teamed up to launch a new Earth-observing satellite called Sentinel-6B that will measure sea surface height of most of the planet’s ocean. These observations will help build an accurate picture of local and global sea levels for weather and storm forecasting to secure coastal property and infrastructure, and to support commercial activities, such as shipping and undersea pipeline operations. 

Sentinel-6B will be the latest in a series of satellites dating back to 1992 that have created a more-than-30-year record of sea level rise around the globe. It is part of the Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-Continuity of Service (CS) mission. The first, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, was launched in 2020. As its twin, Sentinel-6B will continue measuring sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of Earth’s ocean.

The Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission was jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with funding support from the European Commission and technical support from the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES).

Earlier this year, Sentinel-6B was removed from storage and underwent a series of checks at IABG in Ottobrunn, Germany. It was then transported by truck to Bremen, where it was loaded onto the Industrial Dolphin ship for a three-week sea voyage to Galveston, Texas. Upon arrival, it was transported by road to NASA’s facilities at Vandenberg, California, where it remained in storage until October, when final launch preparations were made.

Sentinel-6B will launch from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than Monday, Nov. 16, 2025.

The Sentinel-6B satellite was built by Airbus Defence and Space in Europe.

For more information on the Sentinel-6B mission, visit: 
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/sentinel-6/
https://bit.ly/3WZzJVy

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Duration: 1 minute, 37 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2025

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