This is the first satellite in the ESA Copernicus program

Apr 4, 2014 09:30 GMT  ·  By
The Soyuz rocket carrying Sentinel-1A is seen here lifting off from the Kourou Spaceport on April 3, 2014
4 photos
   The Soyuz rocket carrying Sentinel-1A is seen here lifting off from the Kourou Spaceport on April 3, 2014

At 21:02 GMT (23:02 CEST) yesterday, April 3, the first European Space Agency (ESA) satellite in the Copernicus Earth-observations program was successfully launched from the Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana, South America. The spacecraft, designated Sentinel-1A, was lofted into orbit aboard a Russian-built Soyuz medium-lift rocket sporting a Fregat upper stage. 

Sentinel-1A weighs around 2.3 tons, putting it right within the range of the Soyuz rocket's lift capability. The rocket took off from the Soyuz Launch Complex (ELS) pad at Kourou, and achieved first stage separation less than 2 minutes later. At T+209 seconds, the payload fairing successfully separated from the rocket, followed by the second stage, and the upper assembly, at T+ 526 seconds.

The satellite was finally inserted into its target, Sun-synchronous orbit around 617 seconds after launch. The Fregat upper stage performed flawlessly, so Sentinel-1A now orbits our planet at an altitude of 693 kilometers (430 miles). When fully operational, the Copernicus environmental monitoring network will feature six families of satellites.

The first of these families includes Sentinel-1A and its twin spacecraft, Sentinel-1B, which is currently scheduled to launch next year. Both satellites carry a single, C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument, capable of imaging Earth in all weather conditions, as well as in any time of day. The SAR asset is capable of monitoring land surfaces, oceans and atmosphere with equal efficiency.

The user-centered Copernicus program is developed to provide the European Union and other countries with the operational information they need to support and inform environmental and security policies. The Sentinel component will also be included in the COSPAS-SARSAT international emergency beacon monitoring system.

“Sentinel-1A opens a new page in the implementation of Copernicus, the second EU flagship space initiative, after the Galileo positioning system. The Copernicus program will provide European citizens with the most ambitious space-based services in the world for environmental and security applications,” commented after the launch Jean-Jacques Dordain, the Director-General of ESA.

“The cooperation between the EU and ESA Member States in the funding of the space infrastructure, the combination of competences and expertise between the European Commission and ESA, and the capabilities of European industry, are putting Europe at the forefront of utilization of space to benefit citizens, policymakers and the economy,” the top official added.

Both Sentinel satellites will continue the legacy left behind by the largest civilian satellite ever built, ESA's Envisat. The latter was decommissioned two years ago, after more than a decade in service. Envisat itself continued in the foot prints of the ERS-1 spacecraft, which launched 23 years ago.

“The launch of the first Sentinel-1 satellite marks a change in philosophy for our Earth observation programs. In meteorology, satellites have been providing reliable data for weather forecasts for over 35 years,” added the ESA Director of Earth Observation Programs, Volker Liebig.

“With the Copernicus program, we will now have a similar information source for environmental services as well as for applications in the security and disaster management domain,” he concluded.

ESA's Sentinel-1A (4 Images)

The Soyuz rocket carrying Sentinel-1A is seen here lifting off from the Kourou Spaceport on April 3, 2014
Rendering of Sentinel-1A in Earth's orbitThe Soyuz rocket being moved to its launch pad in French Guiana
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