Sentinel-1
Sentinel-1 is the first of the Copernicus Programme satellite constellation conducted by the European Space Agency. This mission was originally composed of a constellation of two satellites, Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B, which shared the same orbital plane. Two more satellites, Sentinel-1C and Sentinel-1D are in development. Sentinel-1B has been retired, leaving Sentinel-1A the only satellite of the constellation. The Sentinel-1 satellites 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 410 km. The satellite orbits a Sun-synchronous, near-polar (98.18° inclination) orbit. The orbit has a 12-day repeat cycle and completes 175 orbits per cycle.
Model of a Sentinel-1 (radar antenna missing) | |||
| Manufacturer |
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | European Space Agency | ||
| Applications | Land and sea monitoring, natural disasters mapping, sea ice observations, ships detection | ||
| Specifications | |||
| Spacecraft type | Satellite | ||
| Constellation | Active: 1 | ||
| Launch mass | 2,300 kg (5,100 lb) | ||
| Dry mass | 2,170 kg (4,780 lb) | ||
| Dimensions | 3.9 m × 2.6 m × 2.5 m (13 ft × 8.5 ft × 8.2 ft) | ||
| Power | 5.9 kilowatts (5,900 W) | ||
| Batteries | 324 Ah | ||
| Design life | 7 years | ||
| Production | |||
| Status | Active | ||
| On order | 4 | ||
| Built | 4 | ||
| Launched | 2 | ||
| Operational | 1 | ||
| Retired | 1 | ||
| Maiden launch | Sentinel-1A (3 April 2014) | ||
| Last launch | Sentinel-1B (25 April 2016) | ||
| Related spacecraft | |||
| Subsatellite of | Copernicus Programme | ||
| |||
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 Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, and each on a Soyuz rocket. Sentinel-1C and 1D are in development. An equipment failure on Sentinel-1B in December 2021 accelerated work on Sentinel-1C, originally planned to launch in December 2023.
There are a wide range of applications for the data collected via the Sentinel-1 mission. A few of these uses include sea and land monitoring, emergency response due to environmental disasters, and economic applications. A major goal of the mission was to provide C-Band SAR data. Recently, Sentinel-1 has worked in conjunction with SMAP to help achieve a more accurate measure of soil moisture estimates. Observations from both instruments show to be complementary of each other as they combine data of soil moisture contents.
The ESA and European Commission's policies makes Sentinel-1's data easily accessible. Various users can acquire the data and use it for public, scientific, or commercial purposes for free.