TAMPA, Fla. — Sentinel-2C is able to be shipped from Germany for a two-week travel around the Atlantic Ocean to the Ecu spaceport in French Guiana, the place Europe’s newest Earth science satellite tv for pc is because of release at the ultimate flight of the unique model of the Vega rocket.
Producer Airbus stated July 3 it had loaded the satellite tv for pc onto Canopée, a sail-assisted shipment send designed particularly to move parts for Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket.
Like its Airbus-built predecessors Sentinel-2A and -2B — introduced in 2015 and 2017, respectively — Sentinel-2C’s payload is designed to generate optical pictures from the visual to the shortwave infrared area of electromagnetic spectrum.
Each and every Sentinel-2 satellite tv for pc collects 1.5 terabytes of information consistent with day following onboard compression, supporting packages starting from monitoring land use to environmental tracking.
Airbus stated the 1,100-kilogram Sentinel-2C spacecraft would offer steady imaging in 13 spectral bands from an altitude of 786 kilometers above Earth. With a swath width of 290 kilometers, the corporate stated the payload would offer pictures with resolutions of 10, 20 or 60 meters.
Sentinel-2C would in the long run exchange Sentinel-2A, which is similar to Sentinel-2B. Airbus could also be beneath contract to give you the Sentinel-2D satellite tv for pc to interchange Sentinel-2B and make sure knowledge continuity past 2035.
The satellites are a part of Copernicus, the Earth statement part of the Ecu Union’s house program that leverages quite a lot of applied sciences in orbit.
Earth statement missions evolved by means of the Ecu House Company as a part of Copernicus. Credit score: ESA
“About part of the information used to evaluate and track the have an effect on of local weather exchange on Earth is in reality delivered by means of satellites,” Marc Steckling, Airbus head of Earth statement, science and exploration, stated in a remark.
“The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites have supplied precious local weather knowledge to scientists since 2015 and Sentinel-2C will be certain continuity. Moreover, they’ve additionally made tracking marine muddle from house a fact, an important fulfillment bearing in mind how essential this factor has turn into.”
Arianespace’s next-generation medium-lift Vega C rocket effectively introduced a handful of satellites in its July 2022 maiden flight.
On the other hand, the rocket failed to achieve orbit right through its 2nd project 5 months later — destroying two Airbus Pléiades Neo imaging satellites within the procedure — and has been grounded since.
The Ecu House Company stated in Might it’s making ready to go back Vega C to provider earlier than the top of 2024.
The general flight of the unique model of the Vega rocket was once additionally because of release early this yr earlier than working into an issue with its higher level.
Following its personal collection of setbacks, the primary flight of Arianespace’s Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket, the successor to Ariane 5, is predicted to happen July 9 from French Guiana.
Similar
