Ocean Satellite Renamed for Noted Scientist

A key ocean observation satellite launching this fall has been named after Earth scientist Michael Freilich, as announced Jan. 28 by NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Freilich was head of NASA’s Earth Science division from 2006 until retiring in February 2019. The Sentinel-6A/Jason CS satellite, scheduled to launch this fall from Vandenberg Air Force base in California, will now be known as Sentinel-6 Mike Freilich. The Sentinel-6 mission aims to continue high precision ocean altimetry measurements in the 2020–2030 timeframe using two identical satellites launching five years apart -- Sentinel-6A (now renamed) and Sentinel-6B.