Overview
- Liftoff is targeted for 12:21 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 17 (9:21 p.m. PST Sunday, Nov. 16) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
- NASA launch coverage begins at 11:30 p.m. EST on Nov. 16 on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and other platforms, with website blogs and real-time updates.
- After liftoff, spacecraft separation is planned about 57 minutes into flight, followed by solar array deployment and first contact roughly 90 minutes after launch.
- Once in orbit, Sentinel-6B will fly about 30 seconds behind Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich for cross-calibration before taking over as the primary sea-level reference.
- The international Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission (NASA, ESA, EUMETSAT, NOAA, CNES, European Commission) supplies data for weather and ocean forecasting, disaster readiness, and coastal infrastructure planning, with UK-built propulsion from Airbus Defence and Space.