Equipped with advanced radar technology, the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission delivers continuous, all-weather, day-and-night imaging of Earth’s surface, setting new standards for spaceborne radar. This ambitious mission supports various Copernicus environmental services and climate change research, and provides critical mapping capabilities to aid disaster response such as flood events.

The Sentinel-1 constellation consists of two satellites in the same orbit but positioned 180° apart to optimise global coverage and data delivery for Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space Programme, managed by the European Commission. 

The first satellite, Sentinel-1A, launched in April 2014, was followed by Sentinel-1B in 2016. Sentinel-1C and Sentinel-1D, which include an automatic identification system for maritime surveillance, introduce enhancements over the first two satellites.