On Wednesday, December 5, in French Guiana, the European Vega C rocket cleared the pad for the first time in two years, marking a pivotal moment for Europe’s access to space. Arianespace’s VV25 mission successfully launched Sentinel-1C, a new key asset for the Copernicus Earth Observation program.
At 21.20 UTC, the Vega C lifted off from ELV launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport. Two minutes and twenty seconds into the flight the first stage separated, followed by the separation of the second and third stages minutes later.
#VV25📽️🚀Rewatch the liftoff from @EuropeSpacePort!
— Arianespace (@Arianespace) December 5, 2024
With #Sentinel1 C @CopernicusEU satellite for @EU_Commission @defis_eu & @esa on board a Vega C rocket.
Sentinel-1C well on its way towards the Sun-Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of 700km. #DestinationSpace #Arianespace pic.twitter.com/y1si9BcjnQ
Nearly eight minutes after liftoff, the AVUM+ upper stages carried out the first of three planned ignition. At T+ 01:43:51, the payload was safely released in orbit.
During an ESA media briefing, on November 27, Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes, stated that the commissioning phase of Sentinel-1C will take between three and six months. “We will try to have this as fast as possible,” she added.
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Sentinel-1C, a boost for Copernicus
The deployment of Sentinel-1C is critical for the European Commission’s Earth Observation program. This new satellite will join the Sentinel-1 mission, supporting Sentinel-1A following the early retirement of Sentinel-1B in 2022 due to a technical failure.
Sentinel-1 is the most crucial component of the Copernicus satellite fleet for collecting valuable Earth surface imagery data. Sentinel-1 capabilities cover key domains, including landscape topography, multi-purpose land/ocean imagery, and ice and snow cover measurements.
The constellation operates with two identical satellites on the same sun-synchronous orbit plan, 180° apart. With the restoration of two operational spacecraft, the repeat cycle will be reduced to 6 days from the current 12 days, significantly increasing the data flow in the coming years.
Sentinel-1 satellites are developed and produced by an industrial consortium led by Thales Alenia Space Italy. They are based on the PRIMA (Piattaforma Italiana Multi Applicativa) bus, already used for the Italian COSMO-SkyMed military satellite.
Sentinel-1 is equipped with a C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument, which allows it to capture high-resolution imagery in all-weather, day and night conditions.
The new Sentinel-1C features a new Automatic Identification System (AIS), designed by the International Maritime Organisation to enhance ship tracking. This technology supports the production of a global virtual vessel traffic map by assigning a unique ID to each ship.
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Copernicus, Europe’s eyes on Earth
Established by the European Commission in 2014, the Earth Observation component of the EU’s Space Programme is implemented in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMEtSAT), and many other partners, including EU member states.
The program aims to provide Europe with high-quality data and information for monitoring land, oceans, and atmosphere, climate change, emergency management, and security applications.
The space component of Copernicus involves a joint effort of different constellations. By 2030, 20 satellites will be placed in orbit, split into six different types. Since Sentinel-1A’s launch in 2014, nine spacecraft have been delivered. Along with Sentinel-1, Copernicus will rely on five different missions:
- Sentinel-2 provides high-resolution optical imagery for land services thanks to the MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) aboard that can sample 13 spectral bands. The two identical satellites (2A and 2B) are positioned in a sun-synchronous orbit, phased at 180° to each other. Launched on a Vega in September 2024, Sentinel-2C is in its commissioning phase, preparing to replace Sentinel-2A, deployed in 2015.
- Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B, provide high-accuracy optical, radar, and altimetry data for marine and land services, including land and sea surface temperature and topography. Launched between 2016 and 2018, they are jointly operated by ESA and EUMETSAT.
- Sentinel-4 will provide data for atmosphere composition monitoring, measuring key gas and aerosol traces over Europe. Its Ultraviolet Visible Near-Infrared (UVN) spectrometer, will support the EUMETSAT transition from MSG to the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellite system.
- Sentinel-5 Precursor, launched in 2017, is a gap filler mission aiming at providing atmosphere measurements until the launch of the mission Sentinel-5, part of EUMETSAT’s Metop Second Generation.
- Sentinel-6 provides high-accuracy sea-surface measurements for operational oceanography and climate studies. Launched in 2020 by a SpaceX’s Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, it results from a cooperation between Europe, NASA, and NOAA.
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The return of Vega C
Today’s launch marks an important moment for Europe’s independent access to space. After the successful maiden flight of Ariane 6 in July 2024, ESA can again rely on its sovereign family of Vega light launchers, thus partially bridging the gap left by the retirement of Ariane 5, Vega, and the unavailability of the Russian Soyuz due to the war in Ukraine.
The three-solid stage small-lift launch vehicle is developed by ESA, with Italian Avio as the prime contractor and Arianespace as the launch services provider. From 2025, under an ESA Council resolution, Avio will take over the commercial exploitation of the rocket.
Vega C, intended to replace its predecessor Vega, successfully debuted in 2022. However, after two missions the rocket was grounded due to technical issues.
During the VV22 mission, the Zefiro-40 second stage experienced an anomaly, failing to deliver the payload. An independent ESA investigation identified a “thermo-mechanical over-erosion” of a component as the root cause of the failure. A further issue during a static-fire test led ESA to require a complete redesign of the engine’s nozzle.
After two successful Z40 fire tests at Avio’s Salto di Quirra facility in Sardinia, Italy, the rocket received the green light for its return to flight.
Zefiro 40 is an improved version of the one used in the predecessor. Vega C also features a new first stage, P120C, and the AVUM+ liquid-propellant upper stage, derived from Vega’s AVUM (Attitude Vernier Upper Module).
Cover image credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace
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