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3w ago

Falcon 9 Delivers Europe’s MTG-S1 and Sentinel-4 to Geostationary Orbit

Signal lock with solar-array deployment have been confirmed as the spacecraft head to their 36 000 km orbit for commissioning ahead of delivering rapid-cycle atmospheric profiling alongside precision air-quality data.

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Overview

  • SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched MTG-S1 and Copernicus Sentinel-4 from Cape Canaveral at 23:04 CEST on July 1, with signal acquisition at 23:39 CEST and successful solar-array deployment.
  • The spacecraft are en route to geostationary positions 36 000 km above the equator for commissioning before operational data collection begins.
  • MTG-S1 carries Europe’s first hyperspectral infrared sounder in geostationary orbit, capable of generating three-dimensional profiles of temperature and moisture every 30 minutes to improve severe-storm nowcasting.
  • Sentinel-4’s UVN imaging spectrometer will monitor aerosols, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide over Europe and northern Africa every 60 minutes with unprecedented precision for air-quality forecasting.
  • The mission is a collaboration led by ESA, EUMETSAT and the Copernicus programme, with prime contractors Thales Alenia Space, OHB Systems and Airbus Defence and Space.