What is Sentinel-1A?

Sentinel-1A is a European radar imaging satellite launched in 2014. It is the first Sentinel-1 satellite launched as part of the European Union’s Copernicus programme. The satellite carries a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar which will provide images in all light and weather conditions.

What is the difference between Sentinel-1A and 1B?

Both Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B share the same orbit plane with a 180° orbital phasing difference. With both satellites operating, the repeat cycle is six days. In particular for interferometry, Sentinel-1 requires stringent orbit control.

What is the spectral resolution of Sentinel-1?

The spatial resolution is about 7 km at Nadir and the spectral resolution ranges between 0.25 nm for the longest wavelengths and 1.0 nm at the shortest wavelengths.

How many bands does Sentinel-1 have?

SENTINEL-1 carries a single C-band synthetic aperture radar instrument operating at a centre frequency of 5.405 GHz. It includes a right-looking active phased array antenna providing fast scanning in elevation and azimuth, data storage capacity of 1 410 Gb and 520 Mbit/s X-band downlink capacity.

How many years are in a Sentinel?

Specifications of the Sentinel-1 satellites: 7 year lifetime (12 years for consumables)

Is Sentinel-1 data free?

Sentinel data products are made available systematically and free of charge to all data users including the general public, scientific and commercial users.

Is Sentinel 1 data free?

What is Sentinel imagery?

Sentinel-2 is an Earth observation mission from the Copernicus Programme that systematically acquires optical imagery at high spatial resolution (10 m to 60 m) over land and coastal waters.

Why is Sentinel-2 GOOD?

Together, the Sentinel-2 satellites will provide reliable, timely and accurate high-resolution images of the Earth’s entire land surface every five days.

How far back does Sentinel-2 go?

It aims at monitoring variability in land surface conditions, and its wide swath width (290 km) and high revisit time (10 days at the equator with one satellite, and 5 days with 2 satellites under cloud-free conditions which results in 2-3 days at mid-latitudes) will support monitoring of Earth’s surface changes.

What is the difference between Sentinel-2A and 2B?

Sentinel-2A was launched on 23 June 2015, while Sentinel-2B satellite was launched on 7 March 2017. When two sensors are operated simultaneously, the mission’s revisit time is about 5 days, while about 10 days with one satellite in operation.

Is Sentinel-2 imagery free?

All Sentinel-2 data products are provided free of charge to all data users, including the general public, and scientific and commercial users under the terms and conditions prescribed by the European Commission’s Copernicus Programme.

What kind of spacecraft is the Sentinel 1?

The Sentinel-1 spacecraft design is characterized by a single C-band SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) instrument with selectable dual polarization, a deployable solar array, large on-board science data storage, a very high X-band downlink rate, and stringent requirements on attitude accuracy and data-take timing.

Where was the Sentinel 1 radar antenna made?

Sentinel-1A was constructed in Rome, Italy. Other technologies such as the T/R modules, the C-band synthetic-aperture radar antenna, the advanced data management and transmission subsystems, and the on-board computer, were developed in L’Aquila and Milan. The C-SAR instrument is the responsibility of Astrium Gmbh.

What kind of satellite is Copernicus Sentinel 1?

Copernicus: Sentinel-1 — The SAR Imaging Constellation for Land and Ocean Services Sentinel-1 is the European Radar Observatory, representing the first new space component of the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) satellite family, designed and developed by ESA and funded by the EC (European Commission).

Who is the prime contractor for the Sentinel 1 satellite?

In April 2007, ESA selected TAS-I (Thales Alenia Space Italia) as prime contractor for the Sentinel-1 spacecraft (overall satellite design & integration at system and subsystem level, including the design of the SAR antenna’s transmit/receive modules). ESA awarded the contract to TAS-I on June 18, 2007 at the Paris International Air Show.