Sentinel-3A

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Sentinel-3A
Sentinel-3 spacecraft model.svg
Vector drawing of the Sentinel-3
Mission type Earth observation
Operator ESA  · EUMETSAT
COSPAR ID 2016-011A OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
SATCAT no. 41335
Website Sentinel-3 (ESA)
Mission durationPlanned: 7 years [1]
Elapsed: 8 years, 4 months, 8 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Sentinel-3
Bus Prima
Manufacturer Thales Alenia Space [2]
Launch mass1,250 kg (2,760 lb) [3]
Dry mass1,150 kg (2,540 lb) [4]
Dimensions3.9 × 2.2 × 2.2 m (12.8 × 7.2 × 7.2 ft) [3]
Power2,300 watts [3]
Start of mission
Launch date16 February 2016, 17:57 (2016-02-16UTC17:57) UTC [5]
Rocket Rokot/Briz-KM
Launch site Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Site 133
Contractor Eurockot Launch Services
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Sun-synchronous
Semi-major axis 7,182.47 km (4,462.98 mi)
Eccentricity 0.000309
Perigee altitude 802.12 km (498.41 mi)
Apogee altitude 806.56 km (501.17 mi)
Inclination 98.62°
Period 100.97 min
RAAN 117.18°
Argument of perigee 86.80°
Mean motion 14.26 rev/day
Repeat interval27 days [6]
Epoch 17 February 2016, 18:53:04 UTC [7]
Transponders
Band S band (TT&C support)
X band (science data)
Bandwidth S band: 64 kbit/s uplink, 1 Mbit/s downlink
X band: 2 × 280 Mbit/s [1]
 

Sentinel-3A is a European Space Agency Earth observation satellite dedicated to oceanography which launched on 16 February 2016. [5] It was built as a part of the Copernicus Programme, and is the first of four planned Sentinel-3 satellites. Its sister satellite, Sentinel-3B, launched on 25 April 2018. After completing initial commissioning, each satellite was handed over to EUMETSAT for the routine operations phase of the mission. Two recurrent satellites - Sentinel-3C and Sentinel-3D - will follow in approximately 2025 and 2028 respectively to ensure continuity of the Sentinel-3 mission.

Contents

Mission history

In October 2015, the Sentinel-3A launch was planned for December 2015, [8] but delays in transportation from Cannes to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome postponed the launch to January 2016. [9] The spacecraft arrived at Talagi Airport aboard an Antonov An-124 on 28 November. [10] [11] By 17 December, Sentinel-3A completed pre-launch testing and was placed into storage for the Christmas break, lasting until 11 January 2016. [12] After the break, launch was scheduled for 4 February, [13] but while the spacecraft was being fuelled for launch, Khrunichev Space Center in Moscow determined that the launch pad needed to be recertified, resulting in a further delay. [14] Launch was eventually rescheduled for 16 February. [15]

Launch

Sentinel-3A was successfully launched on 16 February 2016 at 17:57  UTC from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome aboard a Rokot launch vehicle. The Briz-KM upper stage fired twice to insert the spacecraft into its intended 815 km (506 mi) orbit, first at 5 minutes and then at 75 minutes after launch. Spacecraft separation occurred at 79 minutes after launch, and ground controllers received the first communication from the vehicle at 92 minutes. [5] [16]

Operations

The first instrument switched on was OLCI. It made its first picture on 29 February 2016, capturing Svalbard island along with a part of the arctic ice pack near solar terminator. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk. As of 2024, it is Europe's only operational orbital spaceport and the northernmost spaceport in the world. Originally developed as an ICBM site for the R-7 missile, it also served for numerous satellite launches using the R-7 and other rockets. Its high latitude makes it useful only for certain types of launches, especially the Molniya orbits, so for much of the site's history it functioned as a secondary location, with most orbital launches taking place from Baikonur, in the Kazakh SSR. With the end of the Soviet Union, Baikonur became a foreign territory, and Kazakhstan charged $115 million usage fees annually. Consequently, Plesetsk has seen considerably more activity since the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EUMETSAT</span> European intergovernmental organisation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meteosat</span> Series of european weather satellites

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rokot</span> Russian space launch vehicle

Rokot, also transliterated Rockot, was a Soviet Union space launch vehicle that was capable of launching a payload of 1,950 kilograms (4,300 lb) into a 200-kilometre (120 mi) Earth orbit with 63° inclination. It was based on the UR-100N intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), supplied and operated by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The first launches started in the 1990s from Baikonur Cosmodrome out of a silo. Later commercial launches commenced from Plesetsk Cosmodrome using a launch ramp specially rebuilt from one for the Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. The cost of the launcher itself was about US$15 million in 1999; The contract with European Space Agency (ESA) for launching Swarm in September 2013 was worth €27.1 million.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Sentinel-3 › Satellite Description". European Space Agency . Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  2. "Sentinel-3A arrived at launch site" (Press release). Thales Alenia Space. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Copernicus: Sentinel-3". eoPortal. European Space Agency. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  4. "Satellite: Sentinel-3A". World Meteorological Organization . Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Bergin, Chris; Graham, William (16 February 2016). "Russian Rokot launches Sentinel-3A". NASA Spaceflight. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  6. "Sentinel-3 › Mission Summary". European Space Agency. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  7. "Sentinel 3A - Orbit". Heavens Above. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  8. "Sentinel-3A shows off". European Space Agency. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  9. "Sentinel-3A taking final steps to launch". European Space Agency. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  10. "Safe at the launch site". European Space Agency. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  11. "Sentinel-3A Launch Campaign Commenced". Eurockot Launch Services. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  12. "Almost time to pack up for Christmas". European Space Agency. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  13. "Back to Plesetsk and brrrrr... it's cold". European Space Agency. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  14. "Satellite fuelling on hold". European Space Agency. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  15. "Sentinel-3A gets new launch date". European Space Agency. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  16. "Third Sentinel satellite launched for Copernicus". European Space Agency. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  17. "Just two weeks after launch, the latest Sentinel satellite has offered a taster of what it will provide for the EU's Copernicus programme" (Press release). EUMETSAT. 2 March 2016. Archived from the original on 14 June 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.