Sentinel-6 Satellite launched

Sentinel-6 Satellite launched

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Sci & Tech

In news

• The Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on November 21.
• Objective: Designed to monitor oceans
• Developed jointly by: European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat), the USA’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the EU.

Key takeaways 

• This is a part of the next mission dedicated to measuring changes in the global sea level. 
• The mission, called the Jason Continuity of Service (Jason-CS) mission, is designed to measure the height of the ocean. 
• Height of the ocean is a key component in understanding how the Earth’s climate is changing.
• The spacecraft consists of two satellites, out of which one was launched recently, and the other, called Sentinel-6B, shall be launched in 2025.

Do you know? 

• Other satellites that have been launched since 1992 to track changes in the oceans on a global scale include the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1 and OSTN/Jason-2, among others.