Sentinel-2B

Sentinel-2B
Model of a Sentinel 2 satellite
Mission type Earth observation
Operator ESA
COSPAR ID 2017-013A
SATCAT no. 42063
Website Sentinel-2 (ESA)
Mission duration Planned: 7 years[1]
Elapsed: 1 year, 7 months, 13 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Sentinel-2
Manufacturer Airbus Defence and Space
Launch mass 1,140 kg (2,510 lb)
Dry mass 1,017 kg (2,242 lb)
Dimensions 3.4 m × 1.8 m × 2.35 m (11.2 ft × 5.9 ft × 7.7 ft)
Power 1700 watts
Start of mission
Launch date 7 March 2017, 01:49:24 (2017-03-07UTC01:49:24) UTC[2]
Rocket Vega
Launch site Kourou SLV
Contractor Arianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Semi-major axis 7,157.68 km (4,447.58 mi)
Eccentricity 0.000181
Perigee 778.25 km (483.58 mi)
Apogee 780.84 km (485.19 mi)
Inclination 98.5613°
Period 100.45 minutes
Epoch 9 March 2017, 19:06:21 UTC[3]
Transponders
Band S band (TT&C support)
X band and optical laser through EDRS (data acquisition)
Bandwidth 64 kbit/s upload (S band)
128 kbit/s - 2 Mbit/s down (S band)
520Mbit/s down (X band/Optical)
Instruments
Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI)

Sentinel-2B is a European optical imaging satellite that was launched on 7 March 2017. It is the second Sentinel-2 satellite launched as part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme, and its orbit will be phased 180° degrees against Sentinel-2A. The satellite carries a wide swath high-resolution multispectral imager with 13 spectral bands. It will provide information for agriculture and forestry, among others allowing for prediction of crop yields.[4]

Mission history

A €105 million contract for the construction of the spacecraft was signed in March 2010 by ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes and the CEO of Astrium Satellites.[5] It was completed in June 2016,[6][7] and the satellite was transported to the European Space Research and Technology Centre for the test campaign.[8][9]

Launch

The spacecraft arrived at the Guiana Space Centre on 6 January 2017 for pre-launch operations.[10]

Launch took place at the nominal time of 01:49:24 UTC on 7 March 2017. The spacecraft was injected into its target orbit at 02:47:21 UTC.[2][11]

References

  1. ↑ "Sentinel-2: The Operational Compernicus Optical High Resolution Land Mission" (PDF). European Space Agency. 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (7 March 2017). "Environmental sentinel launched from French Guiana". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  3. ↑ "Sentinel 2B - Orbit". Heavens-Above. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  4. ↑ "Sentinel-2B Launch Preparations Off to a Flying Start". European Space Agency. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  5. ↑ "Astrium to build ESA's second Sentinel-2 satellite for GMES". European Space Agency. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "Airbus DS completes Sentinel-2B – Satellite News Digest". SupremeSAT. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  7. ↑ "Airbus Defence and Space completes second Copernicus "Eye"" (Press release). Airbus Defence and Space. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  8. ↑ Porter, G. (21 June 2016). "Sentinel-2B entering LSS". Flickr.com. European Space Agency. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "Sentinel-2B goes through environmental testing at ESTEC". Rhea Group. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Rider, Honora (12 January 2017). "Sentinel-2B unveiled". European Space Agency. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  11. ↑ "Launch Kit: VV09, Sentinel-2B" (PDF). Arianespace. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.

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