The Sentinel-1D satellite is designed to carry an advanced radar instrument to provide an all-weather day-and-night supply of imagery of Earth's surface.
Ariane 6, Europes next-generation heavy-lift launcher operated by Arianespace, has placed the Copernicus Sentinel-1D radar imaging satellite into Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 693 km. The launch, which took place from Europes Spaceport, marked the rockets third commercial and fourth consecutive successful flight, underscoring its growing reliability and performance.
The mission was carried out using the Ariane 62 configuration, featuring two boosters and a short fairing. European agencies opted for the larger Ariane 6 to enable an earlier launch of Sentinel-1D, a satellite designed to strengthen the European Unions Copernicus Earth observation programme.
David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace, said: “Tonight, Arianespace has successfully launched the EU’s Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite, on board Ariane 6. With this mission, Arianespace has now delivered seven Sentinel satellites for the emblematic Copernicus program dedicated to the environment – underscoring our commitment to using space for the benefit of life on Earth, while supporting Europe’s significant ambitions in space. We express our gratitude towards the European Commission, the European Space Agency and all our counterparts for their unique trust and collaboration.”
Cavaillolès added: “This fourth successful flight for Ariane 6 marks another significant milestone achieved together with our industrial partners, all contributing to this impressive ramp-up.”
Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup, stated: “With the fourth successful flight in a row, Ariane 6 has proven its reliability and performance. This demonstrates the amazing work of the teams at ArianeGroup and its industrial partners. The Ariane 6 production ramp-up is now well underway, guaranteeing Europe’s sovereign access to space.”
For this third commercial mission, the Ariane 6 vehicle was in the two-booster Ariane 62 configuration with a short fairing.
Ariane 6 is a programme developed within the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA). As prime contractor and design authority for the launcher, ArianeGroup is responsible for development and production alongside its industrial partners. Ariane 6 is marketed and operated by Arianespace.
The Thales Alenia Space-built Sentinel-1D satellite is part of Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space Programme. Copernicus is managed and funded by the European Union with a partial contribution of ESA. As the world’s most advanced Earth observation system, Copernicus provides continuous, free and reliable Earth observation data and services to public authorities, companies and citizens around the globe. Sentinel-1D will carry advanced radar technology to provide an all-weather, day-and-night supply of imagery of the Earth’s surface, delivering data essential to monitoring sea ice, track icebergs and glaciers, subsidence and oil spills.
