Overview
- Falcon 9 lifted off at 9:21 p.m. PST from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 4E carrying the Airbus-built Sentinel-6B satellite.
- The first-stage booster, on its third flight, landed at Vandenberg’s Landing Zone 4 about 9 minutes 30 seconds after liftoff.
- Sentinel-6B separated from the second stage about 57 minutes into flight, with ESA confirming initial contact soon after.
- Mission teams expect the spacecraft to enter operations within days before continuing the long-running sea-surface height record.
- The $1 billion U.S.–European program will map roughly 90% of Earth’s ice-free oceans every 10 days using a precision radar altimeter.