14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the European Space Agency (ESA) announced today that the Russian-built Soyuz-FG medium-lift rocket which will deliver the organization's first Sentinel-class satellites into Earth's orbit is now sitting atop its launch pad in South America, ready for a launch at 2102 GMT (23:02 CEST).
The Sentinel1-A spacecraft is scheduled to blast off from the ELS launch pad at the Kourou Spaceport, in French Guiana, later today, April 3. The satellite carries a single C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument, which is capable of keeping an eye on Earth's climate and weather through any weather conditions, both at day and at night.
ESA officials gave their final go-ahead for the mission on Wednesday, April 2, after the Soyuz/Sentinel ensemble successfully passed the final series of tests and checks at the launch pad. Everything is now set for tonight's launch, including the actual launch site, and the agency's network of tracking stations that will be supporting and relaying Soyuz telemetry during the ascent into orbit.
Sentinel is the first satellite in the Copernicus program, which seeks to offer climate, weather and meteorological data to the European Union and other countries. Its twin, Sentinel-1B, will join it in orbit in 2015. The duo will then be followed by a number of other Sentinel pairs, although clear launch dates for these missions have not yet been set forth.