The next spacecraft on the manifest of Eurockot is Sentinel-3A from the Copernicus Sentinel range of satellites. Sentinel-3A is presently scheduled to be launched in 4Q 2015 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
The latest satellite for the European Commission’s Copernicus environmental programme has left France bound for the Plesetsk launch site in Russia and launch late next month.
Sentinel-3A is scheduled for liftoff on a Rockot launcher at the end of December.
Does Plesetsk have an airport? Or are all air shipments bound for Plesetsk via Arkhangelsk?
"After an eventful journey to Russia, by plane, lorry and train, the Sentinel-3A satellite is safe and sound in the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia, for lift-off next month."http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-3A_taking_final_steps_to_launch
Quote from: Satori on 12/03/2015 04:24 pm"After an eventful journey to Russia, by plane, lorry and train, the Sentinel-3A satellite is safe and sound in the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia, for lift-off next month."http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-3A_taking_final_steps_to_launch"Bruno Berruti, ESA’s Sentinel-3 Project Manager, comments, “We’ve had some delays from Cannes to Plesetsk. The journey has taken almost two weeks instead of the expected two and a half days, but our baby is finally here safe and sound, so we are all relieved. "
The officer in charge of the activities reported that the Military Commando in Moscow prohibited any activities during the holiday period, therefore the launch campaign should restart on 11 January.The same officer confirmed their preference for the satellite to be stored in its container during the break, even if this may mean delaying the launch campaign by a few days.
.... the military and Khrunichev will proceed to provide their inputs to their management for the formalisation of a new launch date.
http://blogs.esa.int/eolaunches/2015/12/04/unpacking-and-getting-organised/Unpacking and getting organisedQuoteThe officer in charge of the activities reported that the Military Commando in Moscow prohibited any activities during the holiday period, therefore the launch campaign should restart on 11 January.The same officer confirmed their preference for the satellite to be stored in its container during the break, even if this may mean delaying the launch campaign by a few days.Quote.... the military and Khrunichev will proceed to provide their inputs to their management for the formalisation of a new launch date.
Most of the activities that we had planned for today were carried out despite the fact that we had some delays because we couldn’t use the main hall for two hours as the Russian military was busy moving a booster.
Quote from: bolun on 12/07/2015 08:35 amhttp://blogs.esa.int/eolaunches/2015/12/04/unpacking-and-getting-organised/Unpacking and getting organisedQuoteThe officer in charge of the activities reported that the Military Commando in Moscow prohibited any activities during the holiday period, therefore the launch campaign should restart on 11 January.The same officer confirmed their preference for the satellite to be stored in its container during the break, even if this may mean delaying the launch campaign by a few days.Quote.... the military and Khrunichev will proceed to provide their inputs to their management for the formalisation of a new launch date.I see that in recent years, the New Year's Holiday has expanded to take in New Year's Day, January 2-6, Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7, and January 8. Then there's the weekend immediately following in 2016 on January 9-10.Also, this quote from the same blog entry, published December 4:QuoteMost of the activities that we had planned for today were carried out despite the fact that we had some delays because we couldn’t use the main hall for two hours as the Russian military was busy moving a booster.Would this have been the Soyuz-2-1V launched on December 5? Or something else?
.... Assuming everything is ok, we’ll open the container on Wednesday and then we’ll be ready to resume the final countdown to launch on 4 February.
Sentinel-3A is the third satellite to be launched for Europe’s Copernicus environmental monitoring programme, previously known as the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme (GMES). Sentinel-3A is the Copernicus operational wide-swath medium-resolution ocean and land mission designed for providing continuity to optical and altimetry data of the ENVISAT mission and vegetation data of the SPOT (from French «Satellite pour l’Observation de la Terre») mission.Sentinel-3A will globally monitor ocean, ice and land combining a multi-spectral optical mission which provides sea/ land colour data and surface temperatures and an altimetry mission contributing to the determination of the sea surface, ice surface and in-land water topography. In addition, as complementary objectives, the Sentinel-3A mission provides vegetation, fire identification and atmospheric products.ESA is developing six families of Sentinel satellites specifically for Copernicus. Each operational Sentinel system comprises two identical satellite flight models to comply with tight revisit and product delivery latency. The Contracts procuring additional flight models for some of the Sentinel mission have been recently signed, ensuring continuity of Copernicus data for at least two decades. The Sentinel-3 mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites, the first two called Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B, launched separately. Sentinel-3A, the first satellite model of the Sentinel-3 twin-satellite constellation, will be launched on a Russiabuilt Rockot launch vehicle from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia, located at 63°N, 40°E.Copernicus is the most ambitious Earth observation programme to date, conducted jointly by the EC, ESA, EUMETSAT and the member states. Supporting European policies, Copernicus uses accurate and timely data to provide key information services to improve the way the environment is managed, help mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security. In essence, Copernicus will help shape the future of our planet for the benefit of all.
Could it be possible to recover debris from the 2nd stage on the ice floe?
Quote from: input~2 on 02/15/2016 04:42 pmCould it be possible to recover debris from the 2nd stage on the ice floe?Hmmmmm I wonder if we'll see the reentry up here. That's only 80ish miles from Thule.
Launch update: Sentinel3A satellite is now in launch configuration and powered by flight batteries. Green for launch.
First to acquire Sentinel3A tonight is #ESTRACK Kiruna station in Sweden http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Estrack
T-6 hours - network countdown has begun - a synchronised sequence by facilities worldwide to support Sentinel3A launch
CNES guy asked about Jason-3 that was launched by SpaceX. Awkward!
A quick shot of an #ESOC tradition - all the missions' #Sentinel3 good luck cards on the main control room door
How much of the second stage could survive reentry?
First reports from the team indicate #Sentinel3 is healthy and in good condition
#Sentinel3 solar array has deployed! The satellite and its thirsty batteries are drinking in the sunlight now
ESA Operations @esaoperations 30s31 seconds ago#Rockot confirm exact #Sentinel3 launch time was 17:57:40 UTC--Rui says "That's not the EXACT launch time!"
I apologize for the low quality video but since I was using a GoPro I had to zoom it to make it evident. Watch it in 1080p full screen and look towards the center. This is the second stage reentry as shot from Thule AB, Greenland We almost were about to call it quits when it lit up. It was so much better to the naked eye. Nice smoke trail that isn't very evident in the video.
Why was this payload launched on a Rokot, as it's not like ESA is short of launchers of various different classes?
Quote from: Star One on 02/17/2016 12:12 pmWhy was this payload launched on a Rokot, as it's not like ESA is short of launchers of various different classes?They have often launched LEO satellites on small russian launchers in the past. Before Vega it made more sense I guess.Even now, I don't think there is any requirement for ESA projets to launch on European launchers, so they might go for the cheaper option to meet budget constraints (so not Vega...). There might also be launcher manifest availability issues.This year, both Sentinel 5p and Sentinel 2B are planned to be launched on Rokot.