EUMETSAT declares Sentinel-6B operational for sea-level monitoring

EUMETSAT has published a declaration that Copernicus Sentinel-6B entered operational service on October 30, 2026. Its announcement makes the satellite’s high-precision sea-level data available for weather and ocean forecasting and continues a measurement record begun in 1992.

The European meteorological satellite agency operates Sentinel-6B on behalf of the European Commission and reports delivering its data within about three hours. It describes measurements covering up to 95% of the ice-free ocean, alongside atmospheric temperature and water-vapour observations from a radio occultation instrument.

Operational service precedes another handover. EUMETSAT expects Sentinel-6B to become the internationally agreed reference for calibrating other sea-level missions in the coming months. It is still flying 30 seconds behind its twin, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, for comparison measurements; the older satellite is then to change orbit.

The published dates differ: the EU Space portal’s October 30 entry dates operational entry to October 29, while EUMETSAT’s own release gives October 30. Neither reviewed record provides a transfer time or explains the one-day discrepancy.