Soyuz-STA/Fregat-M - VS07 - Sentinel-1A, April 3 2014 (2102UTC)

[catdlr]

Sentinel-1

Published on Jan 21, 2014
Sentinel-1 is the first satellite dedicated to Europe's Copernicus
environmental monitoring program. This new satellite carries an advanced
synthetic aperture radar that works in several specialized modes to provide
detailed imagery for monitoring the oceans, including shipping lanes, sea ice
and oil spills. It also provides data to map changing land cover, ground
deformation, ice shelves and glaciers, and can be used to help emergency
response when disasters such as floods strike and to support humanitarian
relief efforts at times of crisis.

Credits:ESA/ATG medialab

[youtube]6zz8Wj3e-uY[/youtube]

[SaxtonHale]

I'm always amazed by what we can do with various kinds of photons.

[bolun]

Gearing up for a new era in Earth observation

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Gearing_up_for_a_new_era_in_Earth_observation

[beidou]

Gearing up for a new era in Earth observation

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Gearing_up_for_a_new_era_in_Earth_observation

[beidou]

[bolun]

Sentinel-1A satellite during radio frequency tests

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/02/Sentinel-1A_satellite_during_radio_frequency_tests7

Image credit: ESA–S. Corvaja, 2014

[Jester]

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1_spreads_its_wings

[Jester]

Spacecraft arrives in CSG tomorrow

[Skyrocket]

Is the upper stage really a "Fregat-MT"? AFAIK it is a "Fregat-M".

[bolun]

First Copernicus satellite at launch site

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/First_Copernicus_satellite_at_launch_site

Image credit: ESA–M. Shafiq

[Jester]

Is the upper stage really a "Fregat-MT"? AFAIK it is a "Fregat-M".

Could be a mistake but the documents I've seen so far, say Fregat-MT serial 1038

[anik]

Fregat-M.

[Jester]

Fregat-M.

Thanks

[Nicolas PILLET]

Fregat-M.

Quite logical, since Fregat-MT has been developped specially to launch clusters of satellites (GALILEO, and reused for O3b).

[jacqmans]

Sentinel-1A is delivered to French Guiana for Arianespace's next Soyuz mission
 

February 25, 2014 – Soyuz Flight VS07

Payload preparations for Arianespace's initial Soyuz flight in 2014 are ready to kick into gear following this week's arrival of Sentinel-1A – the first radar satellite for Europe's vast Copernicus Earth observation program – at French Guiana.

Sentinel-1A was transported by a chartered An-124 cargo jetliner that landed at Félix Eboué International Airport near French Guiana's capital city of Cayenne, and subsequently was unloaded for the spacecraft's transfer by road to the Spaceport – where it will be readied for launch.

Previously known as GMES, Copernicus is a European Space Agency (ESA) program in partnership with the European Commission. Its goal is to ensure European independence in the acquisition and management of environmental data concerning the planet, to support European authorities and policy-makers.

Sentinel-1A was designed and built by prime contractor Thales Alenia Space, which also produced the Sentinel-1B “sister” satellite now being integrated in Rome for a future launch. Both of these spacecraft use the company's Prima platform – developed on behalf of the Italian space agency.

After Sentinel-1A's launch by Soyuz, it will be placed into a low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 700 km. The spacecraft carries an advanced radar sensor to image Earth's surface through cloud and rain, in day or night conditions. Data will be collected by various European receiving centers and in Italy by the Matera-based space center's ground station.

The Sentinel programs being developed by ESA within the scope of Copernicus include five satellite families: Sentinel-1, designed to ensure the continuity of ERS and Envisat radar data; Sentinel-2 and -3, dedicated to Earth and ocean monitoring; and Sentinel-4 and -5, for meteorology and climatology, with a focus on studying the Earth atmosphere's composition.

Arianespace’s upcoming Soyuz mission with Sentinel-1A will mark the medium-lift vehicle’s seventh flight from French Guiana since its 2011 introduction at the equatorial launch site.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1134.asp

[anik]

I was told that the launch is planned at ~21:00 UTC on April 3rd.

[jacqmans]

[Jester]

I was told that the launch is planned at ~21:00 UTC on April 3rd.

Confirmed by the Team
21:02:26 UTC

[bolun]

Sentinel-1 Student Transponders

http://www.esa.int/Education/Sentinel-1_Student_Transponders

Apply for ‘Sentinel-1 Student Transponders’ project

http://www.esa.int/Education/Apply_for_Sentinel-1_Student_Transponders_project

Project Schedule

http://www.esa.int/Education/Project_Schedule

[bolun]

Payload preparations begin for Arianespace’s upcoming Soyuz mission with Sentinel-1A

February 28, 2014 – Soyuz Flight VS07

The first spacecraft for Europe’s Copernicus Earth observation program – Sentinel-1A – is now undergoing pre-launch checkout at the Spaceport, readying it for an April 3 liftoff on Arianespace’s next Soyuz flight from French Guiana.

Sentinel-1A is being put through its paces inside the Spaceport’s S1A payload preparation facility, where the radar satellite was transported following this week’s arrival in French Guiana aboard an An-124 cargo jetliner.

During the initial preparations, Sentinel-1A was removed from its shipping container in clean room conditions, then raised to a vertical position for the start-up of processing. 

Sentinel-1A is to deliver essential data for Copernicus, a European Space Agency (ESA) program in partnership with the European Commission – which will create a sustainable European satellite network to collect and evaluate environmental data for civil safety and humanitarian purposes.

Specifically, Sentinel-1A was designed and built by Thales Alenia Space for environmental tasks that include maritime surveillance and monitoring of sea ice, oil spills, landslides and floods. These tasks will assist in reconnaissance and operational support activities in response to natural disasters, for which the latest data is required as rapidly as possible.

The Sentinel-1B “sister” satellite will be launched a few years after Sentinel-1A, to improve revisit intervals and allow the entire planet’s mapping in only six days. Both spacecraft are based on the Prima platform developed by Thales Alenia Space on behalf of the Italian space agency, and carry a C-band SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) radar instrument developed by Airbus Defence and Space that allows Earth imaging through cloud and rain, in day or night conditions.

Sentinel programs being developed by ESA within the scope of Copernicus include five satellite families: Sentinel-1, designed to ensure the continuity of ERS and Envisat radar data; Sentinel-2 and -3, dedicated to Earth and ocean monitoring; and Sentinel-4 and -5, for meteorology and climatology, with a focus on studying the Earth atmosphere's composition.

This upcoming launch will mark Arianespace’s seventh Soyuz mission from Europe’s Spaceport since the medium-lift vehicle’s 2011 introduction, as well as the company’s second overall flight conducted from the equatorial launch site in 2014 – following the February 6 Ariane 5 success with ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1135.asp