N° 64–2024: Media invitation: Sentinel-1C pre-launch media briefings
22 November 2024
The third satellite of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, Sentinel-1C, is set for launch on a Vega-C rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, on 3 December 2024 at 18:20 local time (22:20 CET).
Journalists are invited to learn more about the launch (known as VV25), which will coincide with the return-to-flight of Vega-C, by joining a pre-launch media briefing in English, and question-and-answer sessions in French, German, Italian and Spanish. The briefings will be held online and take place on 27 and 29 November.
ESA will also offer the opportunity to join a launch event on 3 December at its European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, where senior experts will be available for interviews on-site. Media accreditation for this opportunity will open in the last week of November.
The programme below highlights the different media activities planned ahead of launch and their respective registration process.
Please note that journalists wishing to attend several of the events mentioned below should register for each activity separately to ensure that they receive the right link/information for each event.
Press briefing per language
Wednesday 27 November, 14:00-14:45 CET - French Q&A session
Participants:
- Pierre Potin, Head of the Copernicus Space Office, ESA
- Christoph Kautz, Director for Satellite Navigation and Earth Observation, Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), European Commission
- Yvan Baillion, Director of European Business, Thales Alenia Space
- Stéphane Israël, CEO, Arianespace
- Giulio Ranzo, CEO, Avio
- Toni Tolker-Nielsen, Director of Space Transportation, ESA
Wednesday 27 November, 15:00-16:00 CET - English briefing
Participants:
- Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes, ESA
- Christoph Kautz, Director for Satellite Navigation and Earth Observation, Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), European Commission
- Giampiero di Paolo, Deputy CEO, Senior Vice President Observation, Exploration and Navigation, Thales Alenia Space
- Stéphane Israël, CEO, Arianespace
- Giulio Ranzo, CEO, Avio
- Toni Tolker-Nielsen, Director of Space Transportation, ESA
Friday 29 November, 14:00-14:45 CET - Italian Q&A session
Participants:
- Pier Bargellini, Copernicus Space Programme Manager, ESA
- Mauro Facchini, Head of Earth Observation Unit, Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), European Commission
- Giampiero di Paolo, Deputy CEO, Senior Vice President Observation, Exploration and Navigation, Thales Alenia Space
- Fabrizio Fabiani, Head of the Vega Programme, Arianespace
- Enrico Cavallini, Head of Access to Space & In-Orbit Servicing Unit, Agenzia Spatiale Italiana
- Giulio Ranzo, CEO, Avio
- Stefano Bianchi, Head of Flight Programmes, ESA
Friday 29 November, 13:00-14:00 CET - Spanish Q&A session
Participants:
- Ramon Torres Cuesta, Project Manager of the Sentinel-1 Project, ESA
- European Commission Representative
- David Iranzo-Greus, Strategy and Marketing Director, Arianespace
Friday 29 November, 15:00-15:45 CET - German Q&A session
Participants:
- Nicolaus Hanowski, Head of Mission Management and Ground Segment Department, ESA
- Elisabeth Hamdouch, Deputy Head of Unit, Earth Observation, Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), European Commission
- Claudia Flöte, Chief Operating Officer, Arianespace
- Marino Fragnito, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Launch Services Director, Avio
- Stefano Bianchi, Head of Flight Programmes, ESA
Registration:
Please express interest for any of the above events by Tuesday 26 November at 17:00 CET for the English media briefing and the French Q&A session, and by Thursday 28 November at 17:00 CET for the German, Spanish and Italian Q&A sessions by selecting and completing the relevant form at
https://blogs.esa.int/forms/ninja-forms/4oqw8
ESA Web TV
The English pre-launch media briefing will be streamed via ESA Web TV.
Contacts
ESA: media@esa.int
Further information
More information about Sentinel-1:
More information about the EU Space Programme
More information about Vega:
More information about ESA:
Images
Sentinel-1 https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Missions/Sentinel-1/(result_type)/images
Terms and conditions for using ESA images:
www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images
For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int
Videos
Sentinel-1 videos https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Missions/Sentinel-1/(result_type)/videos
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos
https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos_for_Professionals
Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:
https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions
For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int
Social Media
Follow ESA on:
X: @esa @ESA_EO @ESA_transport
Instagram: Europeanspaceagency , @ESA_Earth
Facebook: EuropeanSpaceAgency
YouTube: ESA
LinkedIn: European Space Agency - ESA
Pinterest: European Space Agency - ESA
About the European Space Agency
ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia are Associate Members.
ESA has established formal cooperation with other four Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.
By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.
Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int