On Saturday, November 21st, SpaceX performed a launch and landing of the Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California––its first of the year from the west coast. The company successfully delivered and deployed the Sentinel-6A, a precision tool that will help monitor rising sea levels, for a consortium of international space agencies.

Supercluster photographer Pauline Acaline was on-site to capture the round-trip flight.

"The Earth is changing, and this satellite will help deepen our understanding of how," said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA's Earth Science Division. "The changing Earth processes are affecting sea level globally, but the impact on local communities varies widely. International collaboration is critical to both understanding these changes and informing coastal communities around the world."

The mission is a joint venture between NASA, the European Space Agency, the European Union, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, and the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES)––the French space agency.

Sentinel-6A is the first of two Sentinel-6 satellites with the second launching in 2025. Both spacecraft will provide high-precision observations of ocean circulation and measurement of sea-level heights with accuracy to the centimeter.

The spacecraft is named in honor of Dr. Michael Freilich, the leader of NASA’s Earth Science Division until his death in August 2020 of pancreatic cancer.