After six months of rigorous testing at IABG’s facilities in Germany, the Sentinel-2A satellite is placed in the container that will keep it safe during transit to Europe’s Spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana.
The satellite will have one final test, a ‘leak test’, in the container to ensure its propulsion system is tight before departure from Munich on 20 April. Once unloaded and unpacked in Kourou, the satellite will be prepared for liftoff on a Vega rocket on 11 June at 22:52 local time, 12 June at 03:52 CEST.
Offering ‘colour vision’ for the European Commission’s environmental monitoring Copernicus programme, Sentinel-2A combines high-resolution and novel multispectral capabilities – a first for ESA.
With a 290 km-wide coverage path and frequent revisits, Sentinel-2 will deliver views of Earth’s vegetation and changing lands in unprecedented detail and accuracy.