Sentinel

French commercial launch service provider Arianespace has launched Sentinel-1B, the second Sentinel-1 satellite, into space from Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

The satellite was lifted off aboard a Soyuz rocket and got separated from the rocket’s upper stage 23min 35s later.

Part of European Space Agency’s (ESA) environmental Copernicus programme, the newly launched satellite is expected to provide more radar vision to the programme.

Following the launch, Sentinel-1B joins its identical twin, Sentinel-1A, in orbit to provide information for several services such as observing ice in polar seas, tracking land subsidence and responding to disasters, including floods.

Both Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B are equipped with advanced radar that images Earth’s surface through cloud and rain irrespective of whether it is day or night.

ESA director general Jan Woerner said: "The launch of Sentinel-1B marks another important milestone as this is the first constellation we have realised for Copernicus.

"The launch of Sentinel-1B marks another important milestone as this is the first constellation we have realised for Copernicus."

"Orbiting 180° apart, the two satellites optimise coverage and data delivery for services that are making a step change in the way our environment is managed."

Sentinel-1B will be managed by a team of controllers at ESA’s operations centre in Germany and commission the satellite for operations.

The latest mission also carried French space agency CNES’ microscope satellite, and three CubeSats developed by European universities along with ESA’s Education and Knowledge Management Office’s Fly Your Satellite programme.

The three CubeSats are OUFTI-1 from the University of Liege, Belgium; e-st@r-II from Polytechnic of Turin, Italy; and AAUSat-4 from Aalborg University, Denmark.

Sentinel-1B was originally scheduled to launch last week, which was delayed due to a glitch observed during the countdown.

Image: Sentinel-1B lifted off on a Soyuz rocket. Photo: courtesy of ESA.