Sentinel-3A is a European Space AgencyEarth observation satellite dedicated to oceanography which launched on 16 February 2016.[5] It was built as a part of the Copernicus Programme, and is the first of four planned Sentinel-3 satellites. Its sister satellite, Sentinel-3B, launched on 25 April 2018. After completing initial commissioning, each satellite was handed over to EUMETSAT for the routine operations phase of the mission. Two recurrent satellites - Sentinel-3C and Sentinel-3D - will follow in approximately 2025 and 2028 respectively to ensure continuity of the Sentinel-3 mission.
Mission history
In October 2015, the Sentinel-3A launch was planned for December 2015,[8] but delays in transportation from Cannes to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome postponed the launch to January 2016.[9] The spacecraft arrived at Talagi Airport aboard an Antonov An-124 on 28 November.[10][11] By 17 December, Sentinel-3A completed pre-launch testing and was placed into storage for the Christmas break, lasting until 11 January 2016.[12] After the break, launch was scheduled for 4 February,[13] but while the spacecraft was being fuelled for launch, Khrunichev Space Center in Moscow determined that the launch pad needed to be recertified, resulting in a further delay.[14] Launch was eventually rescheduled for 16 February.[15]
Launch
Sentinel-3A was successfully launched on 16 February 2016 at 17:57 UTC from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome aboard a Rokot launch vehicle. The Briz-KM upper stage fired twice to insert the spacecraft into its intended 815 km (506 mi) orbit, first at 5 minutes and then at 75 minutes after launch. Spacecraft separation occurred at 79 minutes after launch, and ground controllers received the first communication from the vehicle at 92 minutes.[5][16]
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).