Sentinel-6B Spacecraft Mate to PLA

Technicians integrate the Sentinel-6B spacecraft to the payload adapter inside the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. The payload adapter is part of the system that connects Sentinel-6B to the second stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will carry it to orbit. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. NASA is targeting launch no earlier than Sunday, Nov. 16, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg.