The fourth Copernicus sentinel satellite, Sentinel-1B, was successfully launched!

The fourth Copernicus sentinel satellite, Sentinel-1B, was successfully launched from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on 26th April at 23:02 Brussels time (22:02 GMT). The 2.3 tonne unit lifted off on a Soyuz rocket that delivered the European Union satellite into orbit at a height of 693km. Sentinel-1B is now orbiting around the Earth, with a 180° orbital phasing difference with its twin brother, Sentinel-1A, which was launched 2 years ago.

This mission provides key data to the European Union Copernicus Programme and benefits numerous services, for example, those relating to the monitoring of Arctic sea-ice extent, routine sea-ice mapping, surveillance of the marine environment, monitoring land-surface for motion risks, enabling forest, water and soil management, and mapping to support humanitarian aid and crisis situations.

Copernicus is a European system for monitoring the Earth coordinated and managed by the European Commission. The development of the observation infrastructure is performed under the aegis of the European Space Agency for the space component and of the European Environment Agency and the Member States for the in situ component. 

Copernicus consists of a complex set of systems which collect data from multiple sources: earth observation satellites and in situ sensors such as ground stations, airborne and sea-borne sensors. It processes these data and provides users with reliable and up-to-date information through a set of services related to environmental and security issues.