The third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite launched today aboard the final Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Sentinel-2C will continue providing high-resolution data that is essential to Copernicus – Europe’s world leading Earth observation programme.
Video: 00:14:09
The Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite lifted off on 5 September at 03:50 CEST (4 September 22:50 local time) aboard the last Vega rocket, flight VV24, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
According to recent research, Europe’s net greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by around 25% since the 1990s. While this is good news, the study also revealed a weakening in the capacity of land and vegetation to absorb and store atmospheric carbon.
ESA mission controllers have completed the final phase of their simulation training for the critical launch and early orbit phase, confirming that everything is ready for the launch of Sentinel-2C.
The Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite is ready for liftoff! Tune in to ESA WebTV on 4 September from 03:30 CEST to watch the satellite soar into space on the last Vega rocket to be launched from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Sentinel-2C is scheduled to liftoff at 03:50 CEST.
Teams from across ESA and industry have worked continuously over the past four months to overcome a glitch that prevented BepiColombo’s thrusters from operating at full power. The ESA/JAXA mission is still on track, with a new trajectory that will take it just 165 km from Mercury’s surface on Wednesday.
ESA's Prospect package, including drill and a miniaturised laboratory, will fly to the Moon’s South Polar region in search of volatiles, including water ice, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
Video: 00:02:32
Sentinel-2C is ready for launch! The new satellite will soon join its Copernicus Sentinel-2 family in orbit – where it will continue to provide detailed views of Earth’s land and coastal waters.
Video: 00:52:00
The Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite is set for liftoff on 4 September on the last Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
ESA’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft has provided crucial data to answer the decades-long question of where the energy comes from to heat and accelerate the solar wind. Working in tandem with NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter reveals that the energy needed to help power this outflow is coming from large fluctuations in the Sun’s magnetic field.
Video: 00:01:23
On 19–20 August 2024, Juice successfully completed a world-first lunar-Earth flyby, with flight controllers guiding the spacecraft first past the Moon, then past Earth. The gravity of the two changed Juice’s speed and direction, sending it on a shortcut to Jupiter via Venus.
On 8 September 2024, the first of four Cluster satellites will return home and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere in an uncontrolled ‘targeted reentry’ over a remote area of the South Pacific Ocean.
As preparations continue to launch the Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite on 4 September, the team at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, has bid farewell to their precious satellite as it was sealed from view within the Vega rocket fairing.
Since ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) flew by the Moon and Earth earlier this week, we’ve seen images from its monitoring cameras and we’ve seen images from its navigation camera. Today we reveal the first images from its scientific camera, JANUS, designed to take detailed, high-resolution photos of Jupiter and its icy moons.
All Rights Reserved. 2026. SpaceZE.com
