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SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Saturday morning, with an expected takeoff time of 9:17 AM PST (12:17 PM EST). This is the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission, carrying a satellite of the same name developed by the European Space Agency, NASA, and US and European meteorological monitoring organizations.
Sentinel-6 is named after former NASA Earth Science Division director Michael Freilich, who held the position between 2006 and 2019 and passed away in August. It is one of two Sentinel-6 series satellites that will be launched for the program, with the Sentinel-6B set to join Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich in 2025.
SpaceX will seek to recover the Falcon 9 first stage booster with an enhanced Earth landing in landing zone 4 in Vandenberg. This is the first SpaceX launch from Vandenberg since June last year, although it has flown a lot of missions from both Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The webcast above will go live approximately 15 minutes prior to takeoff time, so around 9:02 PST (12:02 PM EST). Should this mission be canceled today, there is a backup opportunity scheduled for Sunday at 9:04 PST (12:04 PST).
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