Launch day

The third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana aboard the final Vega rocket on 5 September at 03:50 CEST (4 September 22:50 local time).

The 1.1 tonne satellite carries a high-resolution optical payload that will ensure Europe’s Copernicus Earth observation programme continues to gather some of the best global colour imagery of our land and vegetation ever delivered from space.

After a successful launch, Sentinel-2C separated from its Vega rocket at approximately 04:48 CEST. Around 14 minutes later, at 05:02 CEST, ESA’s ESOC mission operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany, received the all-important first signals from the satellite indicating that it had safely arrived in orbit.

We hear you, #Sentinel2 C!

Troll Station in Antarctica is receiving the satellite’s signal and telemetry is arriving loud and clear at ESA mission control in Germany. pic.twitter.com/4bq9UWOAqI

— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) September 5, 2024

A satellite’s first days in orbit

The teams didn’t have to wait long for the first piece of good news: during the satellite’s first 12-minute communication window with KSAT’s Troll ground station in Antarctica, operators received confirmation that Sentinel-2C had successfully deployed its solar array.

Once the team had gained control of the satellite and confirmed that it had begun to generate power, they set to work switching on and assessing the functionality of the satellite’s other core systems. Meanwhile, ESA’s Flight Dynamics team determined the exact orbit that the satellite had been inserted into by its Vega launcher, and ESA’s Space Debris Office regularly scanned this orbit to ensure it was free of any risk of collision with another spacecraft or piece of debris.

“Overall, Sentinel-2C’s Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) went very smoothly, and we were able to complete all of the necessary activities a little earlier than planned,” said Flight Operations Director Franco Marchese. “Completing a LEOP early reduces the risk that these important activities are disrupted because we need to carry out a collision avoidance manoeuvre to avoid an incoming piece of space debris.”

Marchese reported that the Sentinel-2C LEOP phase formally ended on Friday evening, with the spacecraft and ground systems all operating as expected.

“We have successfully conducted our first orbital manoeuvre using Sentinel-2C’s thrusters. The satellite is in great shape and the commissioning phase – during which we will ensure that its multispectral imager payload is ready for routine operations – started on Monday.”

Sentinel-2C will now spend the next three months being prepared to begin the routine acquisition of high-resolution images of Earth’s land surfaces, islands, inland and coastal waters from an altitude of around 790 km.

“Following a perfect launch by the final Vega rocket, the Sentinel-2C LEOP was swiftly completed by our teams working at ESOC,” said ESA’s Head of Mission Operations Simon Plum.

“In addition to the teams at ESOC, I would like to thank all the teams involved in Sentinel-2C – including those from industry, the teams at ESA’s ESTEC engineering centre and ESRIN Earth observation centre, and the Vega teams at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou – for a job well done and a smooth start to this important mission.”