ESA awards Astrium second Sentinel contract
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded EADS Astrium an E105m contract to build Sentinel-2B, the second Sentinel satellite to be deployed under the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative.
The 1,100 kilogram spacecraft will…
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded EADS Astrium an E105m contract to build Sentinel-2B, the second Sentinel satellite to be deployed under the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative.
The 1,100 kilogram spacecraft will be launched in 2015. It will follow Sentinel 2A, also under construction by Astrium, which will launch in 2013. Astrium has generated around E323m from the Sentinel range to date.
Together, the two Sentinel satellites will cover the entire landmass of the Earth over five-day cycles for 15 years, during which they will send back data and imagery to aid regional planning, disaster control and agriculture management.
“The Sentinel-2 satellites are an important element of the GMES programme and will give Europe the ability to monitor environmental changes in the region over an extended period of time,” said Prof. Dr. Volker Liebig, Director of Earth Observation at ESA. “The GMES programme is unique in the world. The Sentinel-2 missions will provide the level of geographical coverage demanded by users and simultaneously guarantee long-term data availability.”
