SENTINEL-2 is a European wide-swath, high-resolution, multi-spectral imaging mission. The full mission specification of the twin satellites flying in the same orbit but phased at 180°, is designed to give a high revisit frequency of 5 days at the Equator.
SENTINEL-2 carries an optical instrument payload that samples 13 spectral bands: four bands at 10 m, six bands at 20 m and three bands at 60 m spatial resolution. The orbital swath width is 290 km.
Figure 1: The Twin-Satellite SENTINEL-2 Orbital Configuration (courtesy Astrium GmbH)
The SENTINEL-2 twin satellites carry on the legacy of SPOT and LANDSAT by continuing to provide similar types of image data and contributing to ongoing multispectral observations. These satellites are used to support a variety of services and applications offered by Copernicus, including land management, agriculture, forestry, disaster control, humanitarian relief operations, risk mapping, and security concerns.
Instrument Payload
Each of the satellites in the SENTINEL-2 mission carries a single payload: the Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI).