SpaceX F9 : Sentinel-6A Michael Freilich : Vand. : Nov. 21, 2020 (17:17 UTC)

[Steven Pietrobon]

Note that the above article says that launch is on 10 November.

[Bean Kenobi]

Note that the above article says that launch is on 10 November.

Date already known since March 22nd.

November 10 - Jason-CS A (Sentinel-6A) - Falcon 9 - Vandenberg SLC-4E (or Q3 2021)

Changes on March 22nd

[gongora]

NASA LAUNCH SERVICES II - SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES. THIS IS A BILATERAL MODIFICATION TO INCORPORATE THE BASELINE LAUNCH SITE SUPPORT PLAN (LSSP) FOR THE SENTINEL-6 MICHAEL FREILICH (MF) PAYLOAD PROCESSING FACILITY (PPF). ADDITIONALLY, THE SENTINEL-6 MF INTERFACE CONTROL DOCUMENT (ICD) IS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. THIS MODIFICATION INCREASES THE VALUE OF THE CONTRACT BY $185,726.

[wannamoonbase]

Given the payload mass this is probably a RTLS landing.

I'm wondering if they will attempt to recover the fairing.  I don't think they have ships on the west coast.  But could they rent a boat or two and fish the fairings out of the ocean?

[AndrewRG10]

Given the payload mass this is probably a RTLS landing.

I'm wondering if they will attempt to recover the fairing.  I don't think they have ships on the west coast.  But could they rent a boat or two and fish the fairings out of the ocean?

They kinda have to RTLS because they have no west coat droneship. Plus I don't see any heavy payloads going to Polar orbit for a while following the end of Iridium contract

[FutureSpaceTourist]

twitter.com/nasa_lsp/status/1300827174602256384

Launch Alert 🚀 We are targeting Nov. 10 for the launch of the newest ocean-observer, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, aboard a @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California 🌊 Learn more: go.nasa.gov/2XKU02I

https://twitter.com/stephenclark1/status/1300886213541453824

This launch is set for 11:45 a.m. PDT [PST], and will include a first stage return to LZ-4 at Vandenberg.

[Bailey788]

Why they launch at Vandenberg, I thought they can launch SSO at KSC now.

[SMS]

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-first-california-launch-date-16-months/

Just over a week after a Falcon 9 booster was spotted heading west, NASA has confirmed the date for SpaceX’s first California launch in more than 16 months.

Spotted in Texas on August 20th, Arizona on August 23rd, and at the entrance to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) on August 24th, the SpaceX rocket is almost certainly Falcon 9 booster B1063 or B1064. Regardless, it – alongside an expendable upper stage and (likely also expendable) payload fairing – will be flying for the first time on a fairly unique mission cosponsored by NASA.

Known as Sentinel-6A or Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, after the late scientist and NASA director responsible for bringing several major Earth science missions to fruition, the 1500 kg (3300 lb) Airbus-built satellite is designed to measure ocean height and analyze the Earth’s atmosphere almost anywhere on Earth.

Now, just three days after SpaceX successfully completed the first East Coast polar launch in half a century, NASA has already unexpectedly revealed that SpaceX’s first dedicated rideshare mission – mentioned above and now deemed Transporter-1 – is still on track to launch in December 2020. However, SpaceX has moved the launch from California to Florida, killing the possibility that the new booster now at SpaceX’s Vandenberg launch facilities was meant for SARah-1.

The very next day, NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) office revealed that Sentinel-6A is officially targeting an 11:45am PDT (UTC-7), November 10th, 2020 launch on Falcon 9. Aside from giving SpaceX its first firm Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) launch date since June 2019, the NASA update also revealed that the mission hasn’t slipped a single day after more than two months of reviews.

Due to the fact both of SpaceX’s operational drone ships are currently stationed in Florida, Sentinel-6A will include a guaranteed Falcon 9 booster landing back at Landing Zone-4, situated just a thousand feet or so away from the SLC-4E launch pad.

https://twitter.com/SpacecoastPix/status/1297674057102422016

[Bailey788]

thank you

Why they launch at Vandenberg, I thought they can launch SSO at KSC now.

This one going to a 1,336 km x 66 deg orbit, not sun synchronous, according to Gunter's Space.  I'm not sure that 66 deg is possible from the Cape.

 - Ed Kyle

[ZachS09]

Why they launch at Vandenberg, I thought they can launch SSO at KSC now.

This one going to a 1,336 km x 66 deg orbit, not sun synchronous, according to Gunter's Space.  I'm not sure that 66 deg is possible from the Cape.

 - Ed Kyle

They could launch south-southeast like SAOCOM 1B and then dogleg to the azimuth for the 66-degree orbit.

[Comga]

Why they launch at Vandenberg, I thought they can launch SSO at KSC now.

This one going to a 1,336 km x 66 deg orbit, not sun synchronous, according to Gunter's Space.  I'm not sure that 66 deg is possible from the Cape.

 - Ed Kyle

They could launch south-southeast like SAOCOM 1B and then dogleg to the azimuth for the 66-degree orbit.

Do you mean launch on a ~170 degree heading and steer to a 156 degree heading?

[KTigress]

Why they launch at Vandenberg, I thought they can launch SSO at KSC now.

This one going to a 1,336 km x 66 deg orbit, not sun synchronous, according to Gunter's Space.  I'm not sure that 66 deg is possible from the Cape.

 - Ed Kyle

They could launch south-southeast like SAOCOM 1B and then dogleg to the azimuth for the 66-degree orbit.

I guess it also depends on the RAAN they want to achieve (the point the orbit crosses the equator south to north). Technically, you could get to a 66º orbit both from Vandenberg and, now, the Cape, after SAOCOM-1B launch. Vandenberg could be more direct*, though.

Edit: *And probably less risky, too, because you're not overflying other countries.

[Aphelios]

https://twitter.com/HokeDirk/status/1306260219090079745

[Rik ISS-fan]

Airbus Article: california-here-we-come

California, here we come!

Airbus-built Copernicus satellite Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is readied to fly to Vandenberg for launch

Friedrichshafen, 16 September 2020 - Airbus space engineers are preparing the European ocean satellite "Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich" for its journey to the Vandenberg launch site in California. Next week, the satellite will be loaded into a cargo plane at Munich Airport and flown to the US. The Airbus-built satellite is scheduled for launch on 10 November 2020.

[gongora]

NASA Invites Media to Launch of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Satellite from West Coast

Media accreditation is open for the launch of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, an international collaboration between NASA and several partners. This is the first of two identical satellites to be launched sequentially to continue observations of sea level change for at least the next decade. The spacecraft is targeted for liftoff Nov. 10 at 2:31 p.m. EST (11:31 a.m. PST) from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California.

Sentinel-6 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 at VAFB. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Live coverage of the launch will air on NASA TV and the agency’s website.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, NASA will credential a limited number of media to cover the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich launch from VAFB. Due to COVID-19 safety restrictions at VAFB and quarantine requirements, international media who would be traveling from overseas will not be able to register for this launch. International media based in the U.S. may apply.
...

[jacqmans]

Copernicus sea-level satellite arrives safely in California

25/09/2020

The launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite – designed to measure the height of the ocean – is getting tantalisingly close. The satellite has now safely touched down at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California, where mission teams are busily preparing the satellite for its upcoming journey.

After its departure from Munich Airport on 23 September, the Antonov cargo plane landed on the Vandenberg Air Force Base runway at 10:37 local time on 24 September. After a short taxi run, the spacecraft container and support equipment were safely offloaded onto trucks and the convoy took on the 25 km transfer to the SpaceX Payload Processing Facility.

The spacecraft container was then rolled into the facility airlock for cleaning prior to entering the clean room. In the coming weeks, the satellite will be fuelled and encapsulated in the launcher fairing and will be prepared for flight.

Pierrik Vuilleumier, ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-6 project manager, said, “The arrival of Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is a very important milestone in the mission. Following the successful assessments related to the readiness of the launch site and spacecraft operations, we can now safely say the satellite is ready for the next step.”

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-6/Copernicus_sea-level_satellite_arrives_safely_in_California

[jacqmans]

Artist's view of Sentinel-6 during Falcon 9 fairing release

[bolun]

Copernicus Sentinel-6 in partnership

The Copernicus Sentinel-6 mission is a true example of international cooperation. While Sentinel-6 is one of the European Union’s family of Copernicus missions, its implementation is the result of the unique collaboration between ESA, NASA, EUMETSAT and NOAA, with support from CNES French space agency.

http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/09/Copernicus_Sentinel-6_in_partnership

Image credit: ESA

[jacqmans]

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, secured inside a shipping container, arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sept. 24, 2020, aboard an Antonov cargo aircraft. The mission is an international partnership and the first launch of a constellation of two satellites that will observe changes in Earth’s sea levels for at least the next decade. Launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is targeted to lift off from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 4 on Nov. 10, 2020. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

[jacqmans]