Sentinel-2A

Sentinel-2A
	Model of a Sentinel 2 satellite
Mission type	Earth observation
Operator	ESA
COSPAR ID	2015-028A
SATCAT no.	40697
Website	Sentinel-2 (ESA)
Mission duration	Planned: 7 years ; Elapsed: 9 years, 7 months
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Sentinel-2
Manufacturer	Airbus Defence and Space
Launch mass	1,140 kg (2,510 lb)
Dry mass	1,017 kg (2,242 lb)
Dimensions	3.4 m × 1.8 m × 2.35 m (11.2 ft × 5.9 ft × 7.7 ft)
Power	1700 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	23 June 2015, 01:51:58 UTC
Rocket	Vega (VV05)
Launch site	Kourou SLV
Contractor	Arianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Semi-major axis	7,167.10 km (4,453.43 mi)
Eccentricity	0.000127
Perigee altitude	788.06 km (489.68 mi)
Apogee altitude	789.87 km (490.80 mi)
Inclination	98.5623°
Period	100.65 minutes
Epoch	9 March 2017, 21:05:23 UTC
Transponders
Band	S band (TT&C support); X band and optical laser through EDRS (data acquisition)
Bandwidth	64 kbit/s upload (S band); 128 kbit/s - 2 Mbit/s down (S band); 520 Mbit/s down (X band/Optical)
Instruments
	Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI)
	Sentinel-2 Sentinel-2B →

Sentinel-2A is a European optical imaging satellite launched in 2015. It is the first Sentinel-2 satellite launched as part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme. The satellite carries a wide swath high-resolution multispectral imager with 13 spectral bands. Its observations support services such as forest monitoring, land cover change-detection, natural disaster management and water quality monitoring.^[4]

On 7 March 2017 the Sentinel-2A was joined in orbit by its sister satellite, Sentinel-2B.

Mission history

Launch

Sentinel 2A was launched by the Vega VV05 rocket on 23 June 2015 at 01:52 UTC. The satellite separated from the upper stage 54 min 43 s after liftoff.^[5]

Orbital operation

The satellite captured its first image 100 hours after launch, covering a 290 km (180 mi) wide swath from Sweden through Central Europe to Algeria.^[6]^[7]^: 8 Commissioning occurred in October 2015.^[7]^: 8

Between 20 and 23 January 2017 the spacecraft suffered a mission planning anomaly which resulted in loss of data from its instrument, the Multi-Spectral Imager.^[8]

Sentinel 2A's descending orbital path

References

^ "Sentinel-2: The Operational Compernicus Optical High Resolution Land Mission" (PDF). European Space Agency. 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
^ "Second Copernicus environmental satellite safely in orbit". European Space Agency. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
^ "Sentinel 2A - Orbit". Heavens-Above. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^ Justice, Adam (23 June 2015). "Sentinel-2A: Satellite blasts off to provide new, improved view of Earth". International Business Times. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
^ Chris Bergin (22 June 2015). "Vega successfully launches Sentinel-2A mission". nasaspaceflight.com. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
^ "Sentinel-2 delivers first images". European Space Agency. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
^ ^a ^b Hoersch, Bianca (2015). A short success story of Sentinel-2A (PDF). Meeting of the Earth Observation Programme Board. 22–23 September 2015. ESRIN, Frascati, Italy. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
^ "Loss of Sentinel-2A acquisitions between 20 and 23 January 2017". European Space Agency. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.

External links

Sentinel-2 programme at ESA's Sentinel Online
Sentinel-2 programme at ESA.int
Real-time orbital tracking - uphere.space

[esa-factsheet-1] "Sentinel-2: The Operational Compernicus Optical High Resolution Land Mission" (PDF). European Space Agency. 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2015.

[sentinelEarth-2] "Second Copernicus environmental satellite safely in orbit". European Space Agency. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.

[heavens-above-3] "Sentinel 2A - Orbit". Heavens-Above. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.

[4] Justice, Adam (23 June 2015). "Sentinel-2A: Satellite blasts off to provide new, improved view of Earth". International Business Times. Retrieved 24 June 2015.

[5] Chris Bergin (22 June 2015). "Vega successfully launches Sentinel-2A mission". nasaspaceflight.com. Retrieved 19 March 2023.

[6] "Sentinel-2 delivers first images". European Space Agency. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2017.

[StockholmPresentation-7] Hoersch, Bianca (2015). A short success story of Sentinel-2A (PDF). Meeting of the Earth Observation Programme Board. 22–23 September 2015. ESRIN, Frascati, Italy. Retrieved 1 February 2017.

[8] "Loss of Sentinel-2A acquisitions between 20 and 23 January 2017". European Space Agency. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]