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Sentinel-1D

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Sentinel-1D
Model of a Sentinel-1 satellite
(with radar antenna missing)
Mission typeEarth observation
OperatorESA
WebsiteSentinel-1 (ESA)
Mission durationPlanned: 7 years[1]
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeSentinel-1
BusPrima[2]
ManufacturerThales Alenia Space
Airbus Defence and Space[1]
Launch mass2,164 kg (4,771 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date4 November 2025, 21:03 (2025-11-04UTC21:03) UTC
RocketAriane 62 (VA265)[3][4]
Launch siteKourou ELA-4[3]
ContractorArianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Altitude693 km[5]
Sentinel-1 scale model

Sentinel-1D is an upcoming European radar imaging satellite. It is the second of two additional satellites in the Sentinel-1 constellation, part of the European Union's Copernicus programme on Earth observation. The satellite is equipped with a C-SAR sensor, capable of providing high-resolution imagery regardless of weather conditions.[6][7][8][9] Sentinel-1D will be launched on Ariane 6 in late 2025.[10] It is designed to substitute Sentinel-1A, which has been in orbit for 11 years at the time of Sentinel-1D's launch, long beyond its planned mission duration. Sentinel-1D will work in tandem with Sentinel-1C.[11]

Timeline

[edit]

Development contract was signed with Thales Alenia Space of Italy in December 2015.[12] In November 2022, the satellite's launch was scheduled for the second half of 2024.[13] In January 2025, ESA signed a contract with Arianespace to launch the satellite in the second half of 2025 on Ariane 6.[14]

In September 2025 the satellite was transported from the cleanroom in Cannes, France, via Turin, Italy to French Guiana by the Ukrainian Antonov Airlines.[15][16] At the same time, control teams at ESOC in Darmstadt, Germany begun simulations of the Sentinel-1D's Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP). This is the first time an ESOC-operated satellite is launching on Ariane 6.[17]

In early October 2025, the satellite has undergone functional tests at Guiana Space Centre and had its AIS antenna assemblies integrated.[18] The spacecraft Flight Readiness Review took place in mid-October, paving the way for fuelling. By 20 October, the spacecraft was fuelled and on 24 October, it has been encapsulated inside the Ariane 6 fairing.[19][20]

The launch is planned for 4 November 2025 at 21:03 UTC with the first acquisition of signal from the satellite expected at 22:22 UTC. The ESA Web TV broadcast will begin at 20:15 UTC.[21][11]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Facts and figures / Sentinel-1". ESA. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Thales Alenia Space flies high at the Space Symposium". Thales Group. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Sentinel 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  4. ^ JOSEPH-GABRIEL, Daphné (2025-10-06). "Arianespace to launch EU's Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite on November 4, 2025, with Ariane 6". Newsroom Arianespace. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
  5. ^ "ESA - Sentinel-1". Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Sentinel-1 D Satellite Mission Summary | CEOS Database". database.eohandbook.com. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
  7. ^ "WMO OSCAR | Satellite: Sentinel-1D". space.oscar.wmo.int. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
  8. ^ "Countdown to launch – Copernicus Sentinel-1D lifts off in November - European Commission". defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
  9. ^ JOSEPH-GABRIEL, Daphné (2025-10-06). "Arianespace to launch EU's Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite on November 4, 2025, with Ariane 6". Newsroom Arianespace. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
  10. ^ "Ariane 6 to take Sentinel-1D into orbit". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
  11. ^ a b "Watch live: Sentinel-1D launch on Ariane 6". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
  12. ^ "Thales Alenia Inks Deal To Build 2 More Sentinel Satellites for ESA".
  13. ^ "Arianespace supporting the European Union's Copernicus programme with Vega C". Arianespace (Press release). 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Ariane 6 to take Sentinel-1D into orbit". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
  15. ^ "Copernicus Sentinel-1D manoeuvred into place". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
  16. ^ "Sentinel-1D in French Guiana for launch campaign". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
  17. ^ ""We know the drill": Sentinel-1D begins streamlined simulations training". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
  18. ^ "Sentinel-1D preparations underway in Kourou". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  19. ^ "Sentinel-1D fuelled and ready for encapsulation". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
  20. ^ "Sentinel-1D encapsulated inside Ariane 6 fairing". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  21. ^ JOSEPH-GABRIEL, Daphné (2025-10-06). "Arianespace to launch EU's Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite on November 4, 2025, with Ariane 6". Newsroom Arianespace. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
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