Sentinel-6B MLI Operations

Technicians install multi-layer insulation on the Sentinel-6B spacecraft on a work stand inside the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Critical for protecting spacecraft from extreme temperatures and environmental conditions in space, the thin, reflective multi-layer insulation will create a barrier to help reduce heat transfer through radiation while Sentinel-6B is in 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, 2025, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg.