Simulations ongoing for Sentinel-1D

On 17 September, the control team located at ESA’s operation centre in Darmstadt, Germany, began preparing for the launch and the crucial early-orbit phase. Thanks to their recent experience with Sentinel-1C, the team is expected to complete the simulation campaign more quickly than usual.

The team has been augmented by over a hundred experts from flight dynamics, ground stations, software systems, and other specialist areas, along with industry partners who built the satellite and ESA engineers who designed and procured it.

Sentinel-1D will be lifted into orbit by an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana later this year. This marks the first time an ESOC-operated satellite will be launched on Ariane 6, a milestone for ESA’s operations team.

On top of ensuring continuity of data for Copernicus services and applications, the satellite, the fourth of its series, will extend the mission's Earth observations capabilities and provide a long-term outlook for the next decade.