NASA, SpaceX extend commence of Sentinel-6 ocean-mapping satellite to Nov. 21

Airbus Defence and Home technicians region the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft for fueling inner SpaceX’s Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Wicked in California, on Oct. 22, 2020.

(Image: © USAF 30th Home Cruise/Mike Peterson)

An ocean-monitoring satellite must wait now no longer now no longer up to 11 additional days to fetch into condominium.

The U.S.-European Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite mission is now expected to commence on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12: 17 p.m. EST (1717 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Wicked in California. That’s a extend from the high Nov. 10 commence date.

The SpaceX commence used to be delayed following considerations with the Falcon 9 rocket line that stopped a GPS satellite commence for the U.S. Air Force on Oct. 2. To this level, alternatively, there isn’t very any longer any extend for the first operational commercial crew mission, Crew-1, that can furthermore exercise a Falcon 9 rocket to bring astronauts to the Global Home Pickle. NASA added that the target commence date of Saturday, Nov. 14 for Crew-1 remains unchanged at the present.

Sentinel-6: This recent satellite will help us understand local climate alternate impacts 

In a digital press conference Oct. 16, NASA commence products and companies program director Tim Dunn mentioned SpaceX used to be engaged on resolving a rocket gasoline generator topic blamed for the GPS satellite commence abort. “As of this present day [Oct. 16] we safe now a course forward that permits us to invent any predominant transform that shall be required and retain that Nov. 10 commence date,” Dunn mentioned at some level of the clicking conference.

But in a more newest NASA commence, the company mentioned SpaceX will exercise the extend to way Merlin engine sorting out and inspections on the Falcon 9, in gentle of the abort.

“After completing engine sorting out and inspections, groups from NASA and SpaceX safe slither that two engines on the Sentinel-6 rocket’s first stage would must be changed to be particular optimal performance at some level of commence,” NASA mentioned within the commence on Tuesday (Nov. 3). “Work is now progressing to place into effect the engine alternate, and all engine hardware replacements will way subsequent week.”

Sentinel-6 might well be half of a hasty-rising community of Earth observation satellites monitoring our planet’s world warming. A few of the manager contributions of the recent mission might well be better figuring out the sources of sea upward thrust and the actions of deep ocean currents.

Apply Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Apply us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Fb.