Sentinel-3C and FLEX prior to encapsulation

ESA’s FLEX satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite ready to be encapsulated in a Vega-C fairing at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The arrangement of the two satellites inside the fairing is carefully designed for their separate deployment. The two satellites are fitted inside Vega-C’s fairing with a secondary payload adapter called Vespa, where FLEX is positioned below and Sentinel-3C above so that Sentinel-3C can be deployed first.

FLEX and Copernicus Sentinel-3C are scheduled to liftoff on a Vega-C rocket 15 September at 03:21 CEST (14 September at 22:21 local time).