Sea-level monitoring satellite tv for pc Sentinel-6B units sail

Sentinel-6B will comply with within the footsteps of its predecessor, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, assuming the function of the reference radar altimetry mission to proceed the very important report of sea-surface peak measurements by way of at the least 2030.

To guarantee the very best knowledge accuracy and continuity, Sentinel-6B will orbit in tandem with Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich for its first 12 months, permitting for exact cross-calibration between the 2 devices.

With the significance of monitoring sea-level rise so excessive on the worldwide agenda, quite a few organisations have been concerned in making Copernicus Sentinel-6 the gold normal reference mission to take the report of sea-surface peak measurements into the longer term, and to do that with higher precision than ever earlier than.

So, whereas Sentinel-6 is likely one of the European Union’s household of Copernicus missions, its implementation is the results of an distinctive cooperation between the European Commission, ESA, NASA, Eumetsat, and NOAA, with assist from the CNES French area company.

The mission consists of two an identical satellites: Sentinel-6 Michael Frelich, launched in late 2020, and Sentinel-6B, now en path to the Vandenberg Space Force Base launch website. These satellites proceed the legacy of sea-surface peak monitoring that started in 1992 with the French–US Topex Poseidon mission, adopted by the Jason sequence of satellites.

ESA’s prime contracts for the construct of the mission is Airbus Defence and Space in Germany with Thales Alenia Space in France answerable for the altimeter.

The mission builds on heritage from the French–US Jason sequence, ESA’s CryoSat and the Copernicus Sentinel-3 missions.

Developed by ESA, the principle instrument is the Poseidon-4 dual-frequency (C-band and Ku-band) radar altimeter to measure sea-surface peak, vital wave peak and wind velocity to assist operational oceanography.

An superior microwave radiometer, offered by NASA, helps Poseidon-4.

Water within the environment impacts the velocity of the altimeter’s radar pulses – and due to this fact the estimates of sea-surface peak. The superior microwave radiometer determines the water content material within the environment for precisely correcting the radar measurements.

Planned to launch 5 years aside, Sentinel-6B is now making ready to take to the skies and later carry the baton from its predecessor, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.

Earlier this 12 months, Sentinel-6B was faraway from storage and underwent a sequence of checks at IABG in Ottobrunn, Germany.

It was then transported by lorry to Bremen, the place it was loaded onto the Industrial Dolphin for a three-week voyage to Galveston, Texas.

Upon arrival, it’s going to proceed by street to NASA’s services at Vandenberg Space Force Base, the place it’s going to stay in storage till early October, when ultimate launch preparations will start.

With its November launch approaching, Sentinel-6B is poised to increase a legacy of over three a long time of precision sea-level measurements – essential to understanding and responding to one of the crucial urgent challenges of our time.