With the mission comprising two identical satellites orbiting 180° apart to image the planet with a repeat frequency of six days, down to daily coverage at high latitudes, Sentinel-1B was launched in April 2016.

Sentinel-1A has already exceeded its design life of seven years – but is still going strong and expected to be in service for several years to come.

Sentinel-1B, on the other hand, is currently unavailable due to a technical anomaly, so it is important to get Sentinel-1C into orbit and operational as soon as possible.

The contract, which ESA signed today on behalf of the European Union by ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli, ESA’s Director of Space Transportation, Daniel Neuenschwander, and CEO at Arianespace, Stéphane Israël, ensures Copernicus Sentinel-1C’s ride into space on a Vega-C rocket from French Guiana.

Simonetta Cheli said, “All of the Sentinel satellites ESA has developed and built for the European Union’s programme have been resounding successes and at the heart of this world-class environmental programme. The Sentinel-1 mission is key to delivering radar data to monitor sea ice, track icebergs and glaciers, subsidence, oil spills and much more. With many users relying on these data, we are extremely happy to secure the launch for Sentinel-1C on an ESA Vega-C rocket, furthering ESA’s autonomous access to space.”

Stéphane Israël added, “Once again, we are very proud of this new launch contract with the European Space Agency, in charge of the Copernicus space segment, which underlines our long-standing partnership. For Arianespace, this contract is a further sign of the renewed confidence in the Vega system and it’s reaffirmed its ability to meet users’ innovative needs.”