On behalf of the European Commission, ESA has signed a contract with AriseSpace for providing the Ariane missile 6 To start Sentinel-1d satellite, the fourth subdivision of the COPERNICUS SENTINEL-1 Mission, planned for the second half this year.
Agreement, signed today at the Brussels 17th Space Conference , Provides launch of Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite on board a new European carrier rocket 6, known as aryne 62.
Launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite, scheduled for the end of this year. It will join the similar Sentinel-1C, which was launched last December. Sentinel-1D will replace the old Sentinel-1A satellite, which is in orbit already almost 11 years, which significantly exceeds the planned service life.
The Sentinel-1 mission, developed by ESA for the European Commission, based on a group of two identical satellites, flying in the same orbit, but at a distance of 180° from each other, to optimize global coverage and data delivery for Copernicus.
The ambitious Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, equipped with advanced radar technology to provide all-weather images of the Earth's surface, raised the bar for space radars.
The mission contributes to numerous Copernicus services and programs, including arctic sea ice monitoring, tracking icebergs, routine sea ice mapping and measuring the speed of glacier movement.
It also plays an important role in maritime surveillance, for example in the detection of oil spills, vessel tracking for maritime safety and illegal fishing monitoring, etc. in addition, it is widely used to monitor soil deformation, caused by subsidence, earthquakes and volcanic activity, and also for forest mapping, water and soil resources. The mission is critical to supporting humanitarian aid and crisis response around the world.
Sentinel-1C and Sentinel-1D present new capabilities for detecting and monitoring maritime traffic with an integrated automatic identification system tool. This system consists of four on-board antennas and optimizes signal reception, transmitted by ships, which include important details, such as vessel identification, location and direction of passage, which ensures accurate tracking.