Sentinel-1A, the first satellite for Europe’s environmental monitoring Copernicus programme, was launched from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 3 April 2014. It was joined by its identical twin, Sentinel-1B, on 25 April 2016. Orbiting 180° apart, the constellation optimises global coverage and data delivery for Copernicus services. This animation shows some of the critical stages delivering Sentinel-1B into orbit around Earth. After separating from the Fregat upper stage, the satellite takes around 10 hours to deploy its 12 m-long radar and two 10m-long solar wings. This deployment sequence is unique, choreographed to ensure that both deploy in the safest possible way. This approach also allows power from the wings to be available as soon as possible so that the satellite is independent.