Updated: Sat, Nov 21, 2020 11:54 AM IST Named after former NASA Earth Science Division Director Michael Freilich, the US-European satellite was scheduled to be carried into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. With satellites, airborne missions, shipboard measurements, and supercomputers, NASA has been investigating sea level rise for decades. Together with our international and interagency partners, we`re monitoring the causes of sea level rise with high accuracy and precision. Global sea level is rising approximately 0.13 inches (3.3 millimeters) a year. That`s 30 per cent more than when NASA launched its first satellite mission to measure ocean heights in 1992. "We`re united by this big goal," said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, the NASA programme manager who oversees the team. "Sea level is impacted by these different factors that one discipline doesn`t cover - so we`ve got to bring in experts to approach it from all angles."