Sentinel-6B’s ‘First Light’ Captures Atlantic Ocean Sea Level Data

Sentinel-6B, a satellite developed by NASA and its European partners to survey 90% of the world’s oceans, captured data on Nov. 26, 2025, that was used to create a map of sea levels across a vast stretch of the Atlantic Ocean. These are the first measurements the spacecraft has sent back since launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base Nov. 16.

About the size of a pickup truck, Sentinel-6B extends a decades-long effort led by the U.S. and Europe to track ocean height down to fractions of an inch using radar altimetry.

In the visualization, the crisscrossing bands trace Sentinel-6B’s path as it orbits Earth. The image also shows data collected on the same day by the satellite’s twin, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, which launched in 2020. The data in the bands is layered over the combined observations of other sea level satellites across the region shown. Red indicates higher water relative to the long-term average; blue areas indicate lower water.

Together, Sentinel-6B and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich make up the Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS (Continuity of Service) mission developed by NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The European Commission provided funding support, while Centre National d’Études Spatiales, the French space agency, provided technical support.

For more about Sentinel-6B, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sentinel-6B/

Credit: EUMETSAT