The Sentinel missions
ESA is developing a new family of missions called Sentinels specifically for the operational needs of Copernicus.
Each Sentinel mission is based on a constellation of satellites to fulfil revisit and coverage requirements, providing robust datasets for Copernicus services.
These missions carry a range of technologies, such as radar and multi-spectral imaging instruments for land, ocean and atmospheric monitoring:
- Sentinel-1 is a polar-orbiting, all-weather, day-and-night radar imaging mission for land and ocean services. Sentinel-1A was launched on 3 April 2014 and Sentinel-1B on 25 April 2016. Both were taken into orbit on a Soyuz rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The mission ended for Sentinel-1B in 2022 and plans are in force to launch Sentinel-1C as soon as possible.
- Sentinel-2 is a polar-orbiting, multispectral high-resolution imaging mission for land monitoring to provide, for example, imagery of vegetation, soil and water cover, inland waterways and coastal areas. Sentinel-2 can also deliver information for emergency services. Sentinel-2A was launched on 23 June 2015 and Sentinel-2B followed on 7 March 2017.
- Sentinel-3 is a multi-instrument mission to measure sea-surface topography, sea- and land-surface temperature, ocean colour and land colour with high-end accuracy and reliability. The mission supports ocean forecasting systems, as well as environmental and climate monitoring. Sentinel-3A was launched on 16 February 2016 and Sentinel-3B joined its twin in orbit on 25 April 2018.
- Sentinel-5 Precursor – also known as Sentinel-5P – is the forerunner of Sentinel-5 to provide timely data on a multitude of trace gases and aerosols affecting air quality and climate. It has been developed to reduce data gaps between the Envisat satellite – in particular the Sciamachy instrument – and the launch of Sentinel-5. Sentinel-5P was taken into orbit on 13 October 2017 on a Rockot launcher from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.
- Sentinel-4 is a payload devoted to atmospheric monitoring that will be embarked upon a Meteosat Third Generation-Sounder (MTG-S) satellite in geostationary orbit.
- Sentinel-5 is a payload that will monitor the atmosphere from polar orbit aboard a MetOp Second Generation satellite.
- Sentinel-6 carries a radar altimeter to measure global sea-surface height, primarily for operational oceanography and for climate studies. The first satellite was launched into orbit on 21 November 2020 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US.
Looking to the future, six Sentinel Expansion missions are being developed to address EU policy and gaps in Copernicus user needs, and to expand the current capabilities of the Copernicus Space Component.
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