SENTINEL-1

Sentinel-1 is the first of the Copernicus Programme satellite constellation conducted by the European Space Agency. This mission is composed of a constellation of two satellites, Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B, which share the same orbital plane. They carry a C-band synthetic-aperture radar instrument which provides a collection of data in all-weather, day or night. This instrument has a spatial resolution of down to 5 m and a swath of up to 400 km. The constellation is on a sun synchronous, near-polar (98.18°) orbit. The orbit has a 12-day repeat cycle and completes 175 orbits per cycle.

The first satellite, Sentinel-1A, launched on 3 April 2014, and Sentinel-1B was launched on 25 April 2016. Both satellites lifted off from the same location in Kourou, French Guiana, and each on a Soyuz rocket. 

The SENTINEL-1 SAR instrument and short revisit time will greatly advance users’ capabilities and provide data routinely and systematically for maritime and land monitoring, emergency response, climate change and security.

Each SENTINEL-1 satellite is expected to transmit Earth observation data for at least 7 years and have fuel on-board for 12 years.

Applications:

A summary of the main applications of Sentinel-1 include:

• Marine monitoring
  • Sea-ice levels and conditions
  • Ocean oil spills
  • Ship activity
  • Marine winds
• Land monitoring
  • Agriculture
  • Forestry
  • Subsidence
• Emergency response
  • Flooding
  • Landslide and volcanic
  • Earthquakes

For more information: https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/missions/sentinel-1

SENTINEL-1 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: