Written by Anjali MararNew Dehi | Updated: November 18, 2025 07:06 AM IST 2 min readAn artist’s impression of Sentinel-6B. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)Sentinel-6B was launched on Monday from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It is an ocean-tracking satellite with six onboard science instruments that will measure the rising sea levels and its impacts on the planet. Sentinel-6B will orbit Earth at a speed of 7.2 km per second, completing one revolution every 112 minutes.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEOData of the oceans, its temperature, sea-levels are vital for weather forecasting, storm predictions, securing undersea pipeline and cable networks, and shipping services. Data from Sentinel-6B is expected to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts, including storm and flood predictions, enabling administrators to make better real-time decisions to safeguard public property and protect coastal infrastructure.Sentinel-6B is a joint mission between the United States’ NASA and NOAA, and the European Space Agency; it is the latest in a series of satellites launched since the 1990s, mainly by NASA, to measure the sea-level changes from space.With its twin, the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich operating in space since November 2020, Sentinel-6B will provide primary sea level measurements down to approximately an inch from over 90% of all the oceans.© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Express ExplainedNASA