New satellite will track ocean levels

The Earth observation satellite, developed by European and American space agencies, will

measure rising ocean levels, tracking changes that threaten to disrupt the lives of tens of millions of people. The payload will be lifted into a 1,300-kilometer orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The Sentinel-6a satellite will be the first of twoidentical devices - the second one will be launched in five years. The researchers hope to provide measurements of "unprecedented precision" by 2030. Each device is equipped with a radar altimeter, which measures the time it takes for radar pulses to travel to and from the Earth's surface.

The satellites will revolve around the planet on the sameorbit as previous missions that provided sea surface elevation data over the past three decades. They mapped 95% of the iceless ocean every ten days.

There are billions of dollars worth of resources in space: they want to develop them by 2025. Main

Accelerated sea level rise is likelyis a consequence of climate change that will affect the largest number of people over the next three decades. The researchers believe that in this way they will be able to monitor changes and notify the authorities of countries around the world.

Nearly 800 million people live within five meters of ocean level and even a few centimeters rise could cause much more damage from high tides and storms.

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