Artykuły o Copernicus

[Orionid]

Vega Launches Sentinel-2A Observation Satellite
Peter B. de Selding June 23, 2015 [SN]


Sentinel-2A being encapsulated in Vega fairing. Credit: ESA

PARIS — Europe’s Vega small-satellite launcher on June 22 successfully launched the Sentinel 2A optical Earth observation satellite, the second in the European Commission’s Sentinel series of environment-monitoring payloads built for its Copernicus program.
https://spacenews.com/vega-launches-sentinel-2a-observation-satellite/

Europe Grants U.S. Special Access to Copernicus Earth-observation Data
Peter B. de Selding October 23, 2015 [SN]


Sentinel 1. Credit: ESA

PARIS — The European Commission and the U.S. government have reached an agreement under which U.S. agencies will have free access to Europe’s Copernicus environment-monitoring satellite constellation.

The agreement, concluded Oct. 16 in Washington and announced Oct. 19 and Oct. 20 by the two parties, is subject to a technical implementation arrangement involving the 22-nation European Space Agency, which will create dedicated access channels to facilitate the trans-Atlantic exchange.
https://spacenews.com/europe-grants-u-s-special-access-to-copernicus-earth-observation-data/

Thales Alenia Inks Deal To Build 2 More Sentinel Satellites for ESA
Peter B. de Selding December 15, 2015 [SN]


Roberto Battiston (back left), president of the Italian Space Agency, and Mauro Facchini, head of the European Commission’s Copernicus unit, watch while Donato Amoroso (left), chief executive of Thales Alenia Italy, and Volker Liebig, ESA's director of Earth observation programs, sign the contract for the Sentinel-1C and Sentinel-1D satellites. Credit: ESA/M. Iacobucci

ROME — The European Space Agency on Dec. 15 contracted with Thales Alenia Space to build two C-band radar satellites, Sentinel-1C and Sentinel-1D, as part of the European Commission’s Copernicus Earth observation system.
https://spacenews.com/thales-alenia-space-signs-contract-to-build-2-more-sentinel-satellites-for-esa/

Europe’s Sentinel-3A Earth observation satellite successfully launched
Peter B. de Selding February 16, 2016 [SN]



DARMSTADT, Germany—Europe’s Sentinel-3A Earth observation satellite on Feb. 16 was successfully placed into low Earth orbit aboard a German-Russian Rockot launch vehicle operating from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.

Officials at the European Space Agency’s space operations center, ESOC, here confirmed that the satellite was in the correct location and sending signals via a ground station in Kiruna, Sweden and that its solar panels had correctly deployed.
https://spacenews.com/europes-sentinel-3a-earth-observation-satellite-successfully-launched/

Euro Soyuz launches Sentinel-1B Earth observation satellite, Einstein-challenging physics experiment
Peter B. de Selding April 26, 2016 [SN]



PARIS—A Europeanized Russian Soyuz rocket on April 25 successfully placed a European radar Earth observation satellite, a French fundamental-physics experiment and three European university-built cubesats into low-Earth orbit.

The operators of all five satellites confirmed that their spacecraft were in the correct orbit and sending signals of good health.
https://spacenews.com/euro-soyuz-launches-sentinel-1b-earth-observation-satellite-and-french-einstein-challenging-physics-experiment/

Europe’s Copernicus enters hunt for missing EgyptAir flight
Peter B. de Selding May 20, 2016 [SN]



PARIS– The European Space Agency on May 20 produced a radar satellite image of a 2-kilometer-long oil slick in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that ESA officials say could be from the missing EgyptAir MS804, which disappeared on May 19.
https://spacenews.com/europes-copernicus-enters-hunt-for-missing-egyptair-flight/

Britain’s quitting the EU, but will it be forced out of EU space programs?
Peter B. de Selding June 24, 2016 [SN]



PARIS — The British vote June 23 to leave the European Union is likely to occur gradually over two years, but it raises multiple immediate questions about the consequences for Europe’s space programs and Britain’s role in them.

Not all of these questions can be answered definitively. British and European Union officials have said it will take time to fix a precise schedule for the separation. During this time it may be possible for Britain the European Commission to negotiate trade and security treaties that would blunt the impact of the withdrawal. Here are some of the issues confronting British and European space policy after the vote:

— More than three-quarters of Britain’s space spending is sent to the 22-nation European Space Agency, which is not a European Union organization. ESA Director-General Johann-Dietrich Woerner has said that for ESA programs, Brexit should have little or no impact.
https://spacenews.com/britains-quitting-the-eu-but-will-it-be-forced-out-of-eu-space-programs/

Vega rocket launches latest Sentinel Earth observation satellite
Jeff Foust March 7, 2017 [SN]


Sentinel-2B lifts off on a Vega launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 01:49 GMT on March 7. Credit: Stephane Corvaja/ESA

A Vega rocket launched the latest Sentinel Earth observation satellite Monday night.

The Vega, on its ninth launch to date, lifted off on schedule at 8:49 p.m. Eastern from Kourou, French Guiana, and placed the Sentinel-2B satellite into orbit.
https://spacenews.com/vega-rocket-launches-latest-sentinel-earth-observation-satellite/

UK hopes to stay involved in Copernicus post Brexit
Tereza Pultarova October 16, 2017 [SN]


Speaking at the Sentinel 5P launch event in was Jo Johnson, the UK’s minister of state for universities, science, research and innovation. Johnson tried to reassure those in attendance that Sentinel 5P is not the UK’s final contribution to large EU-funded space projects such as Copernicus, Galileo and the Space Surveillance and Tracking program (SST). Credit: Twitter/@JoJohnsonUK

LONDON — The Oct. 13 launch of the air-pollution-monitoring satellite Sentinel 5P was a bittersweet moment for the UK space sector.
https://spacenews.com/uk-hopes-to-stay-involved-in-copernicus-post-brexit/

European Commission pleased with Copernicus program
Caleb Henry December 1, 2017


Sentinel-5 Precursor, the most recent Copericus satellite to launch, monitors Earth's atmosphere, detecting pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, sulphur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide and aerosols. Credit: ESA

WASHINGTON — The European Commission gave a positive assessment of its Copernicus Earth-observation program, now in its third year, defending the free provision of data and emphasizing a need to make that data more applicable to non-space users.
https://spacenews.com/european-commission-pleased-with-copernicus-program/

ESA tasks Airbus with streamlining  Copernicus data access
Tereza Pultarova December 14, 2017 [SN]


Artist's rendition of the Copernicus program's Sentinel-5P satellite. Credit: ESA

LONDON — Airbus has signed a contract with the European Space Agency to develop a Copernicus Data and Information Access Services, or DIAS, platform that will make data from the Earth-monitoring constellation more accessible to users from about mid-2018.
https://spacenews.com/esa-tasks-airbus-with-streamlining-copernicus-data-access/

Copernicus DIAS is biggest ESA contract for Poland to date
Tereza Pultarova December 22, 2017 [SN]


Australia’s Lake MacKay as seen in a modified satellite image from the Copernicus program's Sentinel-2B in March. Credit: ESA

LONDON — A 15 million euro ($17.8 million) contract to build one of the five Copernicus Data and Information Access Services (DIAS) platforms has been awarded by the European Space Agency to a Polish-led consortium — the biggest ESA deal the ex-communist country closed since having joined the agency in 2012.
https://spacenews.com/copernicus-dias-is-biggest-esa-contract-for-poland-to-date/

Op-ed | In space, no one is powerful enough to boldly go alone
Elżbieta Bieńkowska April 18, 2018 [SN]


U.S.-European collaboration led to the discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system. This artist’s impression shows the view from the surface of one of the seven or more planets orbiting the ultracool dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth. Credit: ESO/N. Bartmann/SpaceEngine.org

This op-ed was originally published in the April 9, 2018 issue of SpaceNews magazine.

Europe is getting stronger and stronger as a global player in space and our two flagship programs, Galileo and Copernicus, are performing even better than we expected. In October 2016, we adopted a space strategy which set the European vision on space. Space matters in Europe and it is a top political priority. But the European Union’s efforts to achieve autonomy in space don’t mean we act in isolation.
https://spacenews.com/op-ed-in-space-no-one-is-powerful-enough-to-boldly-go-alone/

Eurockot conducts final Rockot mission with Sentinel-3B satellite
Caleb Henry April 25, 2018 [SN]


A Rockot converted ICBM lifts off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome April 25 with the European Sentinel-3B satellite. Credit: ESA

WASHINGTON — Eurockot Launch Services’ last mission using the Russian-German Rockot launcher took place successfully April 25 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia.

Rockot, an intercontinental ballistic missile converted into a space launch vehicle, lifted off at 1:58 p.m. Eastern with the 1,200 kilogram Sentinel-3B Earth observation satellite. The three-stage vehicle deployed the satellite in a low Earth orbit roughly an hour and a half later. ESA confirmed the satellite phoned home to a ground station in Sweden.
https://spacenews.com/eurockot-conducts-final-rockot-mission-with-sentinel-3b-satellite/

EU eyes 16-billion-euro space program for navigation systems, Earth observation, components
Jarosław Adamowski June 26, 2018 [SN]


The Sentinel-2B satellite launched in March 2017 is part of Europe’s Copernicus system of Earth-observation satellites. Credit: Airbus

WARSAW, Poland — The European Commission has unveiled plans to spend 16 billion euros, or $18.6 billion, on a space program to boost the EU’s space capabilities in the years 2021 to 2027.

Of these, 9.7 billion euros are to be allocated to the Galileo and European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) satellite navigation systems, 5.8 billion euros to the Copernicus Earth-observation program, and a further 500 million eurowto the development of new security components.
https://spacenews.com/eu-eyes-16-billion-euro-space-program-for-navigation-systems-earth-observation-components/

EU could agree on new regulation for space program by May
Jarosław Adamowski January 14, 2019 [SN]


The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament are currently negotiating the final shape of the regulation. Credit: European Commission Credit: European Commission

WARSAW, Poland — The Council of the European Union, representing ministers from the EU member states, has agreed on a draft regulation for the bloc’s space program. The regulation is to provide Brussels with an adequate budget to continue its space projects, such as EGNOS, Galileo and Copernicus, and establish the rules for the governance of its space program, among others.
https://spacenews.com/eu-could-agree-on-new-regulation-for-space-program-by-may/

Copernicus budget gets budget boost from European Commission
Megan Gannon January 23, 2019 [SN]


The Sentinel-2B satellite launched in March 2017 is part of Europe’s Copernicus system of Earth-observation satellites. Credit: Airbus

BERLIN — The European Commission allocated another 96 million euros ($109 million) for the European Space Agency to spend on the Copernicus Earth-observation program in the next two years.
https://spacenews.com/copernicus-budget-gets-budget-boost-from-european-commission/

ESA selects prime contractors for six new Copernicus missions
Brian Berger July 1, 2020 [SN]


The Sentinel-2B satellite launched in March 2017 is part of Europe’s Copernicus system of Earth-observation satellites. Credit: Airbus

WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency on July 1 awarded 2.5 billion euros in development contracts for six new Earth-observation missions under the Copernicus remote-sensing satellite program.
https://spacenews.com/esa-selects-prime-contractors-for-six-new-copernicus-missions/

Thales Alenia Space wins lion’s share of newly awarded Copernicus contracts
Brian Berger July 6, 2020 [SN]


The Copernicus Sentinel-6A mission, which carries a radar altimeter to observe changes in sea-surface topography, is slated to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in November aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: ESA

WASHINGTON — Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy won the largest share of prime contracts the European Space Agency awarded July 1 for further development of six new Copernicus satellite missions.
https://spacenews.com/thales-alenia-space-wins-lions-share-of-newly-awarded-copernicus-contracts/

European Commission agrees to reduced space budget
Caleb Henry July 21, 2020 [SN]


Ursula von der Leyen (center), president of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union. Credit: European Commission.

The accepted budget is 2.8 billion euros less than what was sought in 2018 and 2019.

WASHINGTON — The European Commission slashed its space budget for the next seven years, agreeing to a maximum of 13.2 billion ($15.2 billion) focused mainly on continuing the Galileo and Copernicus satellite programs.
https://spacenews.com/european-commission-agrees-to-reduced-space-budget/

Airbus signs $350 million contract to build CRISTAL ice-monitoring satellite for EU
Andrew Parsonson September 23, 2020 [SN]


Europe's Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter mission (CRISTAL) will measure sea-ice thickness, overlying snow and the height of ice sheets and glaciers. Image credit: Airbus

VALLETTA, Malta — The European Space Agency signed a 300-million-euro ($352 million) contract with Airbus Defence and Space on Sept. 21 to develop an ice-monitoring satellite for European Union’s Earth-observing Copernicus program.
https://spacenews.com/airbus-signs-350-million-contract-to-build-cristal-ice-monitoring-satellite-for-eu/

ESA signs a trio of Copernicus contracts worth 1.3 billion euros
Andrew Parsonson November 13, 2020 [SN]


The European Space Agency has signed contracts for three High-Priority Candidate Missions for the agency’s Earth-observing Copernicus program. Combined, the contracts are worth 1.3 billion euros. Credit: Thales Alenia Space

VALLETTA, Malta — The European Space Agency (ESA) signed contracts for three pairs of satellites for the agency’s Earth-observing Copernicus program on Nov. 13 with a total award value of more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.54 billion).
https://spacenews.com/esa-copernicus-trio/

[Orionid]

Falcon 9 launches Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean science satellite
by Jeff Foust — November 21, 2020


Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, launched Nov. 21, is the latest in a series of satellites going back nearly three decades to track rising sea levels. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched Nov. 21 the latest in a series of satellites developed by the United States and Europe to track rising sea levels.

The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 4 East at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 12:17 p.m. Eastern. Its payload, the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, separated from the rocket’s upper stage nearly an hour later, after a brief second burn of the upper stage. The rocket’s first stage landed on a pad back at SLC-4.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the first of two satellites jointly developed by a group of agencies in the United States and Europe, including NASA, NOAA, the European Space Agency, Eumetsat and the European Commission, to provide precise measurements of rising sea levels.

The spacecraft will ensure a continuity of measurements dating back nearly three decades, starting with the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite launched in 1992 and followed by the three Jason spacecraft launched in 2001, 2008 and 2016. Those earlier spacecraft were joint projects of NASA, NOAA, Eumetsat and the French space agency CNES, while Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is considered part of the Copernicus program of Earth observation satellites by ESA and the EU.

“It’s the first time that ESA and NASA have really collaborated in such an integrated way on an Earth observation satellite,” said Pierrik Vuilleumier, Sentinel-6 project manager at ESA, during a Nov. 20 pre-launch briefing. NASA and ESA are each spending about half a billion dollars on the total program, which includes a second Sentinel-6 satellite that will launch in the middle of the decade.

The spacecraft itself, weighing 1,192 kilograms at launch, was built by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. It has a distinctive appearance with two body-mounted solar panels that look like the roof of a house. That design is intended to maximize the power they can provide without requiring the use of deployable arrays and motors than can induce vibrations in the spacecraft.

The spacecraft’s main instrument is a radar altimeter provided by ESA, which bounces radio pulses off the ocean to measure sea level as well as wave height and ocean speed. It is supported by a microwave radiometer developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which measures water vapor in the atmosphere to providing timing corrections for the radar altimeter.

Also on Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is a global navigation satellite system radio occultation (GNSS-RO) instrument to provide measurements of the atmospheric temperature and moisture by measuring signals from GPS and other navigation satellites. That instrument is similar to those on the six COSMIC-2 satellites launched in June 2019. In addition to measuring atmospheric conditions, data from the GNSS-RO instrument will be used with that from three other sensors to precisely measure the spacecraft’s orbit, at an altitude of 1,336 kilometers and an inclination of 66 degrees.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will operate in the same orbit as Jason-3, with the two satellites about 30 seconds apart. That will assist in the commissioning of the new spacecraft, a process that will take about a year, said Remko Scharroo, project scientist for the mission at Eumetsat. “They will basically see the same ocean conditions, and that, of course, makes comparing the measurements much better,” he said at a pre-launch briefing.

While the spacecraft features improved resolution and precision compared to its predecessors, scientists emphasized the importance of continuing a series of measurements of sea level height dating back nearly three decades. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich “will continue our record of sea surface height observations well into the next decade,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth science division.

“It’s a critical observation for a number of reasons, but its power is really unleashed when we combine our altimetry observations of the sea surface height measurements with the observations we get from the other satellites in the NASA fleet and the international fleet,” she continued. “We can see not only that the sea level is rising but we can also tell how much of that change is coming from melting ice sheets and glaciers, and how much of that change is coming from thermal expansion of the oceans themselves.”

That satellite data has shown that sea levels are not only rising, but also that the rate of increase is accelerating. Sea levels were rising at the rate of about two millimeters per year in the 1990s, said Josh Willis, project scientist for the mission at JPL, but are now increasing at four to five millimeters per year. “We’re watching the rate of sea-level rise increase right before our very eyes, and it’s satellites like this that allow us to do it,” he said.

“We cannot ignore that our planet is changing,” said Pierre Delsaux, deputy director general for space for the European Commission, at a briefing about the mission in October. “The climate is changing. Nobody can deny it. From that point of view, we need to understand why the climate is changing, what are the factors, and we need to monitor the situation.”

NASA and ESA named the spacecraft after Michael Freilich, a former director of NASA’s Earth science division, during a ceremony early this year. Freilich, who retired from NASA in 2019 after leading NASA’s Earth science programs for more than a decade, died of cancer in August.

“This partnership is very much aligned with what Mike Freilich’s passion has been,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science, at the pre-launch briefing, noting Freilich’s research in ocean sciences before taking the NASA position. “I want to tell you how honored I feel, and how it still moves me today, that the name of Michael Freilich is, in fact, on this spacecraft.”

“It’s an extra special day when we will see this satellite launch, the satellite that he worked so hard to put in place,” said St. Germain.

Source: https://spacenews.com/falcon-9-launches-sentinel-6-michael-freilich-ocean-science-satellite/

International satellite launches to extend measurements of sea level rise
November 21, 2020 Stephen Clark [SFN]


A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base with the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich oceanography satellite. Credit: SpaceX

A European-built satellite with the unusual shape of a house launched into orbit Saturday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Central Coast, carrying a sophisticated radar altimeter to measure rising sea levels on our home planet.

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich observation satellite lifted off at 9:17:08 a.m. PST (12:17:08 p.m. EST; 1717:08 GMT) Saturday from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base around 140 miles (225 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.

Flying toward the south-southeast, the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket hauled the satellite into orbit on SpaceX’s first mission from the West Coast launch site since June 2019.

Less than two-and-a-half minutes into the flight, the Falcon 9’s first stage booster detached and fired cold gas thrusters to flip around and fly tail first. A boost-back burn and entry burn by a subset of the rocket’s Merlin engines guided the Falcon 9 booster back toward Vandenberg.

The supersonic return maneuvers culminated in a landing burn by the rocket’s center engine. Four landing legs unfurled just before touchdown as the 15-story booster settled to a bullseye landing at SpaceX’s rocket recovery facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base about eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.

The successful landing marked the third time SpaceX has returned a Falcon 9 booster to the onshore landing site at Vandenberg, and the 66th recovery of a Falcon booster overall.

Here’s a replay of the Falcon 9 rocket’s launch from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, with the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich oceanography satellite.
Continuing coverage: https://t.co/dseXmjGEGn pic.twitter.com/V0Cd2cjIGx
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) November 21, 2020

The rocket’s upper stage continued firing its single Merlin to reach a parking orbit around Earth, then reignited the engine for about 10 seconds to circularize its orbit before separation of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite around 58 minutes after launch.

Live video from the Falcon 9’s upper stage showed the 2,628-pound (1,192-kilogram) spacecraft flying free of the rocket over the Indian Ocean.

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite was built by Airbus in Germany and is the size of a small pickup truck. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich carries a radar altimeter, a microwave radiometer, and instruments to precisely locate the satellite in orbit. Working together, the instruments will track changes in sea level down to a few centimeters.

The mission is a partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency, Eumetsat, and NOAA. The European Commission — the EU’s executive arm — and the French space agency CNES also provided support to the mission.

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is named for the former head of NASA’s Earth science division, who died of cancer earlier this year.

“Congratulations to everyone that made today’s launch of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite possible!” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted. “A fitting tribute to an incredible trailblazer in Earth science.”

Ground teams at the European Space Operations Center in Germany received the first signals from the new oceanography satellite about an hour-and-a-half after liftoff, while the spacecraft sailed over a ground station in Alaska. Controllers confirmed the satellite extended its power-generating solar panels, and the spacecraft appeared to be in good shape in a first-look health assessment.

Initial data showed the Falcon 9 rocket placed the satellite into an orbit very close to the mission’s target altitude of 830 miles (1,336 kilometers). The launcher aimed to inject the spacecraft in an orbit inclined about 66 degrees to the equator, the same orbital plane where a predecessor oceanography satellite named Jason 3 flies.

Falcon 9 has landed! The brand new booster that launched the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich oceanography satellite has returned to a bullseye landing on California’s Central Coast.
This marks the third landing of a Falcon 9 booster at Vandenberg.https://t.co/dseXmjGEGn pic.twitter.com/gUwfqwPXsU
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) November 21, 2020

Rising sea levels are one consequence of climate change. Data from previous satellites show the rate of sea level rise is accelerating, according to mission scientists.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the next in a series of oceanography missions tracking sea level rise, beginning with the U.S.-French Topex/Poseidon mission that launched in 1992. The Jason 1, Jason 2, and Jason 3 satellites followed Topex/Poseidon, and an identical satellite to Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich named Sentinel-6B is planned for launch in 2025 to further extend the data record of sea level rise.

The Topex/Poseidon and Jason satellites have charted about 3.5 inches (9 centimeters) of global sea level rise over the last 30 years, said Remko Scharroo, Sentinel-6 project scientist at Eumetsat.

The cost of the two Sentinel-6 missions is roughly $1 billion, and was evenly divided between the U.S. and European partner agencies, according to Thomas Zurbuchen, head of NASA’s science mission directorate.

“It’s the satellite so nice we built it twice,” said Josh Willis, Sentinel-6 project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“The record of global sea level rise actually goes back to the early ’90s,” Willis said. “What’s interesting about it is that you can see the rate of rise is actually increasing. In the ’90s, sea level was rising at about 2 millimeters per year. In the 2000s, it was more like 3 millimeters per year, and now it’s more like 4 or close to 5 millimeters per year. So we’re watching the rate of sea level rise increase right before our very eyes, and it’s satellites like this that allow us to do it.”


Artist’s concept of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

Craig Donlon, Sentinel-6 mission scientist at ESA, said rising sea levels “threaten major cities with increased flooding, including New York, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, and more. It’s estimated that about 2 to 3 million more people are exposed for every 1 millimeter rise in sea level.”

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the eighth satellite to launch for the European Copernicus constellation, a fleet of orbiting sentinels observing Earth’s land surfaces, oceans, ice sheets, and atmosphere with radar, optical, microwave, altimetry, and spectral instruments. The European Commission manages the Copernicus program, with ESA providing technical expertise and coordinating development of the Sentinel satellites.

A primary goal of the Copernicus satellites is to collect data on Earth’s changing climate. The fleet is the most capable satellite program focused on Earth observation. Data from the Sentinel satellites are distributed worldwide free of charge.

“We see evidence of this dramatic change in many different measurements and events around the world, but they all point in the same direction — the Earth is warming,” Donlon said in a pre-launch news conference. “And the greatest indicator of this Earth system imbalance is sea level rise. That’s because it integrates the total impact of global warming. That’s dominated by the ice sheets melting, the thermal expansion of the sea water, and changes in terrestrial water storage.”

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft carries a European dual-frequency Poseidon 4 radar altimeter that transmits signals toward the ocean surface more than 800 miles below the satellite. A receiver measures the time it takes for the signal to bounce off the ocean and return to the satellite.

A microwave radiometer provided by NASA measures atmospheric properties that can introduce minuscule effects on the travel time of the radar altimeter signal, allowing scientists to correct for the perturbations and obtain a more precise measurement of sea level.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich also carries instruments to help determine its exact location using GPS navigation signals, Doppler measurements, and laser tracking.


This chart illustrates the sea level rise observed by satellites since the early 1990s. Credit: NASA

The satellite will also measure wave height and derive wind speed estimates by observing the roughness of the ocean surface. It will cover about 95 percent of the world’s oceans every 10 days.

The unusual house-like shape of the spacecraft itself is also an important factor in its performance. Engineers designed it for simplicity, and its lack of articulating solar array wings and other structures “makes for a very stable satellite design, which is really important for a satellite altimeter mission,” Donlon said.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will take its measurements with higher resolution than earlier satellites looking at sea level rise. That means the new satellite will be able to better see how rising sea levels are impacting coastlines.

Eumetsat will take over regular operations of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich for its planned five-and-a-half year mission after it completes a three-day activation timeline.

Ground teams will maneuver Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich into position flying about 140 miles, or 230 kilometers, behind the Jason 3 satellite — which launched in 2016 — for about a year’s worth of cross-calibration to ensure the new spacecraft provides the same reliable data as its predecessor.

Sentinel-6B will replace Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich after it launches in 2025, extending the sea level rise data record through at least 2030.

SpaceX tentatively plans to reuse first stage that flew with the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission Saturday on the company’s next launch of a NASA spacecraft from Vandenberg next July, NASA launch director Tim Dunn said in a recent interview with Spaceflight Now.

On that flight, a Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, mission from Vandenberg. It will mark the first time a NASA science mission has launched on a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster.

DART is scheduled for launch in a window opening July 2021, allowing the probe to reach its asteroid target in late 2022. DART will intentionally crash into a tiny moonlet orbiting asteroid Didymos to test out deflection techniques that scientists could use to move an asteroid off a collision course with Earth.

Dunn said NASA’s Launch Services Program, which manages launch procurement and preparations for NASA science missions, has approved the rocket reuse plan for the DART mission, pending post-flight inspections and refurbishment on the booster after the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission.

NASA has already approved launches of SpaceX’s Dragon space station cargo ships on previously-flown Falcon 9 boosters, and the agency earlier this year agreed to launch Crew Dragon astronaut missions on reused rockets beginning with the next SpaceX crew flight in March 2021.

One caveat to the booster’s future is its possible use as a backup for the SpaceX Crew-2 mission in March. Kathy Lueders, head of NASA’s human spaceflight directorate, said last week that the Falcon 9 first stage from the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission could be a backup for the Crew-2 launch if problems arise with the primary rocket assigned to astronaut mission.

NASA and SpaceX have agreed to use the same booster for the Crew-2 launch that sent the Crew-1 mission toward the International Space Station on Nov. 15. That stage landed on a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean and returned to Cape Canaveral on Thursday with a lean after it apparently slid across the deck of the vessel in high winds or rough seas.

The booster otherwise appeared to be in good shape, and SpaceX offloaded the rocket from the drone ship for transport to a hangar at Cape Canaveral for inspection and refurbishment.

Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/21/international-satellite-launches-to-extend-measurements-of-sea-level-rise/

[Orionid]

Brexit deal allows UK to continue participation in Copernicus
Jeff Foust December 27, 2020 [SN]


The Sentinel-2B satellite launched in March 2017 is part of Europe’s Copernicus system of Earth-observation satellites. Credit: Airbus

WASHINGTON — An agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union will allow the UK to remain in the Copernicus Earth observation program after it formally exits the EU.
https://spacenews.com/brexit-deal-allows-uk-to-continue-participation-in-copernicus/

ESA and EU to sign partnership agreement
Jeff Foust June 16, 2021 [SN]


ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said Europe needed “a serious debate” on its future plans in space in order to maintain a role as a global leader. Credit: ESA/S. Corvaja

WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency and the European Union will sign an agreement next week governing their work on joint projects, one that the agency says will allow ESA members who are not part of the EU to participate on those projects.

At a June 16 press conference, Anna Rathsman, chair of the ESA Council, said that, during the council’s two-day meeting that had just concluded, members unanimously approved a Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) that the agency had been in lengthy negotiations with the European Commission about.
https://spacenews.com/esa-and-eu-to-sign-partnership-agreement/

ESA moving ahead on new Copernicus missions despite lack of U.K. agreement
Jeff Foust December 23, 2021 [SN]


The Copernicus Carbon Dioxide Monitoring, or CO2M, mission is one of six Copernicus missions whose development is jeopardized by a 750 million euro funding shortfall caused by a lack of an agreement on U.K. participation in E.U. elements of the program. Credit: OHB

WASHINGTON — With a deadline for an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union on British involvement in, and funding for, Copernicus come and gone, the European Space Agency is pressing ahead on several missions in the hopes a deal can eventually be reached.
https://spacenews.com/esa-moving-ahead-on-new-copernicus-missions-despite-lack-of-u-k-agreement/

ESA considering moving up radar satellite launch after Sentinel-1B malfunction

Hope fading for recovery of European radar imaging satellite
by Jeff Foust — March 21, 2022 [SN]


“The situation doesn’t look very good, but we have not given up hope yet,” ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said of Sentinel-1B, which malfunctioned nearly three months ago. Credit: ESA

WASHINGTON — European Space Agency officials said prospects are dimming for the recovery of a radar imaging satellite that malfunctioned nearly three months ago, but that efforts to save the spacecraft continue.

Source: https://spacenews.com/esa-considering-moving-up-radar-satellite-launch-after-sentinel-1b-malfunction/

Vega C to launch Sentinel-1C in 2023
by Jeff Foust — April 8, 2022 [SN]


The Vega C rocket, selected to launch Sentinel-1C in 2023, faces potential issues about access to the Ukrainian engine that powers its upper stage. Credit: ESA/J. Huart

COLORADO SPRINGS — The European Space Agency will launch its Sentinel-1C radar imaging satellite on a Vega C rocket in 2023 as the agency continues to study potential impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on that launch vehicle.

Arianespace announced April 7 that it won a contract from ESA to launch Sentinel-1C in the first half of 2023. Neither the company nor the agency disclosed them terms of the contract.
https://spacenews.com/vega-c-to-launch-sentinel-1c-in-2023/

ESA ends efforts to recover Sentinel-1B
Jeff Foust August 3, 2022 [SN]


ESA is continuing to investigate a problem with the power system on the Sentinel-1B satellite that has kept the radar imaging satellite out of service since late December. Credit: ESA

WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency is ending efforts to restore operations of the Sentinel-1B radar imaging satellite that malfunctioned more than half a year ago and will instead move up the launch of a replacement.
https://spacenews.com/esa-ends-efforts-to-recover-sentinel-1b/

Vega C to launch five Copernicus spacecraft
Jeff Foust November 30, 2022 [SN]


The European Commission selected Arianespace to launch five Copernicus satellites on Vega C rockets between 2024 and 2026. Credit: Arianespace

WASHINGTON — The European Commission awarded a contract to Arianespace Nov. 29 for launches of five Copernicus Earth observation spacecraft on Vega C rockets between 2024 and 2026.

The contract, Arianespace Chief Executive Stéphane Israël said in a press conference, secures the position of the European Commission, which operates both Copernicus and the Galileo navigation constellation, as the launch provider’s top institutional customer.
https://spacenews.com/esa-ends-efforts-to-recover-sentinel-1b/

[Orionid]

Europe's Earth observing system ready for liftoff
BY STEPHEN CLARK SPACEFLIGHT NOW Posted: April 2, 2014

The first spacecraft in a multi-billion dollar fleet of European environmental satellites is set for launch on a Soyuz rocket Thursday to begin supplying global radar coverage for scientists and security institutions to track maritime threats, manage resources and respond to emergencies.
https://spaceflightnow.com/soyuz/vs07/140402preview/

First Sentinel satellite in orbit after successful Soyuz launch
BY STEPHEN CLARK SPACEFLIGHT NOW Posted: April 4, 2014


Liftoff of the Soyuz ST-A rocket with Sentinel 1A occurred at 6:02 p.m. local time in French Guiana. Photo credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace - Photo Optique Video du CSG

Europe's first Sentinel satellite blasted off Thursday and deployed its radar antenna and solar panels overnight, inaugurating a multi-billion dollar series of satellites to take the pulse of Earth's land surfaces, oceans and atmosphere with unmatched regularity.
https://spaceflightnow.com/soyuz/vs07/140404launch/

Close Call: Europe’s Just-launched Sentinel-1A Dodges Dead Satellite
Peter B. de Selding April 10, 2014



PARIS — Europe’s just-launched Sentinel-1A satellite was obliged to perform a collision-avoidance maneuver some 34 hours after separation from its carrier rocket April 3 to prevent a collision with a dead U.S. satellite, according to the European Space Agency.
https://spacenews.com/40164close-call-europes-just-launched-sentinel-1a-dodges-dead-satellite/