Operator
European Commission (EC)Manufacturer
European Commission (EC)Sentinel-2A Mission
6/23/2015
The Sentinel-2 constellation is based on two identical satellites, Sentinel-2A launched in 2015 and Sentinel-2B launched in 2017.
Night-pass data from Sentinel-2A show that the mission can capture gas flares from oil production sites in the Middle East.
Engineers and scientists are using Sentinel-2A as a test platform to trial night-time imaging modes ahead of Sentinel-2 Next Generation.
Sentinel-2A remains in good health after a decade in orbit and continues to deliver data to a broad user community.
Sentinel-2A has been activated during night passes for experimental trials to assess performance when imaging in darkness.
The Sentinel-2 night imaging campaign required careful preparation by mission teams and placed additional strain on the ageing Sentinel-2A satellite.
Sentinel-2A was launched in 2015.
Sentinel-2A coped well with the additional energy load throughout the night-imaging campaign.
Switching on the Sentinel-2A imager during the night portion of the orbit demanded a substantial amount of energy.
The Sentinel-2 constellation is based on two identical satellites in the same orbit separated by 180 degrees.
Night-time trial results from Sentinel-2A now feed directly into planning for the Sentinel-2 Next Generation mission.
Sentinel-2C was launched in 2024 to take over duties from the ageing Sentinel-2A.
Lynred has previously developed and manufactured infrared detectors for the Sentinel-2 mission used on satellites Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B, which were launched in 2015 and 2017 respectively.