Sentinel-2C inside the Vega launch tower

The Vega launch tower at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, where preparations are underway for Copernicus Sentinel-2C liftoff.

The Sentinel-2 mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites, Sentinel-2A (launched in 2015) and Sentinel-2B (launched in 2017), flying in the same orbit but 180° apart to optimise coverage and revisit time. Once in orbit, Sentinel-2C will replace Sentinel-2A – prolonging the life of the Sentinel-2 mission – ensuring a continuous supply of data for Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the EU Space Programme.

Data collected from Sentinel-2 are used for a wide range of applications, including precision farming, water quality monitoring, natural disaster management and methane emission detection.

Sentinel-2C launches on the last flight of Vega, Europe’s nimble rocket specialising in launching small scientific and Earth observation spacecraft such as to sun-synchronous polar orbits, following the Sun.