Vega with Sentinel-2C gantry roll back

The Vega rocket holding the Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite on the launch pad at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana waiting for liftoff.

The Sentinel-2 mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites, Sentinel-2A (launched in 2015) and Sentinel-2B (launched in 2017), flying in the same orbit but 180° apart to optimise coverage and revisit time. Once in orbit, Sentinel-2C will replace its predecessor, Sentinel-2A, while Sentinel-2D will later replace Sentinel-2B.

Sentinel-2C launches on Vega, Europe’s nimble rocket specialising in launching small scientific and Earth observation spacecraft such as to sun-synchronous polar orbits, following the Sun.

At 30 m tall, Vega weighs 137 tonnes on the launch pad and reaches orbit with three solid-propellant powered stages before the fourth liquid-propellant stage takes over for precise placement of Sentinel-2C into its orbit.