On 21 November 2020, the ocean-monitoring satellite "Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich" was successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force base in California (United States). This satellite mission builds upon a highly successful cooperation between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).


The satellite will collect measurements of the ocean and atmosphere at higher resolution and accuracy using new technology. Hence, these measurements will help researchers to understand how climate change affects the sea level and the shape of Earth’s coastlines. Moreover, the satellite will also provide new input for numerical weather prediction models, which will likely result in an improvement of the weather forecasts.

EUMETSAT has taken over operations of the satellite on 24 November 2020 and will be responsible for routine operations and processing and disseminating its data. Luxembourg, represented by MeteoLux, is a Member State of EUMETSAT since 9 July 2002.