A joint U.S.-European satellite to monitor oceans around the world could travel into orbit Sunday night from Vandenberg Space Force Base — if the weather cooperates.
The Sentinel-6B, an international satellite to study sea levels, is scheduled to launch at 9:21 p.m. Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4.
Nine minutes after lifting off, the first-stage booster, making its third flight, will return to Vandenberg, touching down at Landing Zone 4 west of the launch pad.
This means people in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties may hear sonic booms upon the booster’s return to the Central Coast.
On Saturday, mission managers provided an update on preparations for the liftoff. Members of the team mated the satellite to the rocket in the morning in anticipation of rolling out to the launch pad overnight and raising it into vertical position.
“The Falcon 9 rocket and Sentinel-6B spacecraft are ready, and the launch team is prepared to launch this important ocean science altimetry mission,” said Tim Dunn, NASA launch manager for the Sentinel-6B mission.
Because of NASA’s involvement, the mission does not fall under the Federal Aviation Administration’s emergency order limiting commercial launches to only occurring between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time. The FAA issued the temporary order due the federal government shutdown.
Orbital mechanics determine launch times to ensure a satellite gets placed where it needs to be in space.
However, the series of storms hitting California could interfere with the liftoff plans, said 1st Lt. William “Forrest” Harbin, launch weather officer assigned to Vandenberg.
“Overall, we’re optimistic for the weather. However, our probability of violation for the primary day is 60% with slight improvement for backup day with 40%,” Harbin said.
Concerns for Sunday’s launch attempt involve clouds that could force the team to scrub the countdown.
Clouds cause a weather constraint due to the danger of rocket-triggered lightning as the vehicle travels.
If delayed for some reason, a launch attempt Monday could encounter clouds that may scrub the countdown plus a slightly increased threat of natural lightning, Hardin said.
With NASA and the European Space Agency as the main mission partners, Sentinel-6B will monitor global sea level and ocean conditions using precise radar measurements from space.
“Sentinel 6B will ensure the uninterrupted continuation of this monitoring of sea level and will extend an unprecedented and unbroken record of global mean sea level measurements that run back 40 years,” said Phil Evans, director general for the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).
The rate of sea level rise is an extremely important indication of climate change, Evans said, adding the data shows sea levels are rising and at a faster rate.
“That exposes up to 900 million people living in coastal regions to increased risks, and the sea level monitoring satellites are incredibly important in gaining an understanding of that,” Evans said.
Sentinel-6B’s departure will come five years after its sibling satellite, Sentinel-6A Michael Freilich, launched from Vandenberg and continues to operate while orbiting Earth.
A live webcast of the countdown and liftoff will begin approximately one hour before Falcon 9’s planned departure at NASA+ and the NASA channel on YouTube.
