General Queries
Who can access Copernicus Sentinel data and what are the prerequisites?
A free, full and open data policy has been adopted by the EU for the Copernicus programme, which foresees access by all users to the Copernicus Sentinels core products. The different Copernicus Sentinels data use typologies and the corresponding available services are documented in the Data Access web pages.
The use of Copernicus Sentinel data assumes acknowledgement of the general Terms and Conditions for the use and distribution of Copernicus Sentinel data. A simple registration is required to download the products.
Which Copernicus Sentinel-1 imagery is available to users?
Observation and Production scenarios, as well as the data distribution strategy are described here.
Which Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery is available to users?
Coverage information and available data products are available here.
Which Copernicus Sentinel-3 products are available to users?
Observation scenario and available data products are available here.
Which Copernicus Sentinel-5P products are available to users?
Data products available are described here.
What is the current status for each mission?
An updated status of each mission is regularly published in the corresponding dedicated pages, for Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-5P respectively.
What is the cost of Copernicus Sentinel data?
As per Copernicus Sentinel data policy, data are distributed free of charge via the Copernicus Data Hubs.
Is any tool available for working with Copernicus Sentinel products?
ESA makes available free open source toolboxes for the scientific exploitation of the Copernicus Sentinel missions. Detailed information is available in the Copernicus Sentinel Toolboxes page.
Where can I find documentation on Copernicus Sentinel missions?
The Copernicus Sentinels Document Library is available here.
Are common products made available by ESA and EUMETSAT identical?
Copernicus Sentinel-3 level 1 products are produced and made available both by ESA and EUMETSAT. So they are referred to as "Common products".
These products are generated using the same processors so the products are identical except for operational contingencies which may affect one or the other centre, e.g. differences in the dynamic auxiliary data used, different creation/publication times, slight shifts on the adoption of new processing baselines, etc.
Such information are detailed inside the product manifest.
Copernicus Data Hub
How can users access Copernicus Sentinels data?
Access depends on the User Category. The different access point and service levels are described here.
How to use the Copernicus Open Access Hub?
The user guide is available here.
What is the registration process in the Copernicus Open Access Hub?
Access to Copernicus Sentinel products available in the Open Access Hub requires the user to self-register. Instructions to register can be found in the user guide.
How can a password be reset for a Copernicus Open Access Hub account?
The instructions to reset a password can be found in the user guide under "Password Reset"
Can the Copernicus Open Access Hub time out?
Once you are logged in to the Copernicus Open Access Hub, a long period of user inactivity will cause a timeout and you have to log in again to do a new search.
How many images can be downloaded simultaneously from the Open Access Hub?
Users are able to download two images simultaneously. If a third download is attempted when two are already on-going, the system will return an error of 'An exception occurred while creating a stream: Maximum number of 1 concurrent flows achieved by the user "<username>"' (though 2 concurrent downloads are accepted).
Is batch downloading available in the Copernicus Open Access Hub?
The Data Hub exposes the Open Data Protocol (OData) interface for accessing the Copernicus Sentinel. Information is available here.
Are all data available online?
Since 10 September 2018, the oldest and least used Copernicus Sentinel data are removed from the online archive but the products can still be retrieved from the Long Term Archive. Information is available here.
Is it possible to shift Copernicus Sentinel-1 frames along track?
It is not possible to select or shift frames along the track. Products are available as shown in the Copernicus Open Access Hub.
What is the registration process in the Copernicus Services Data Hub?
Copernicus Services and European Institutions have a dedicated access point, the CopHub. Users from these two categories can register to access CSCDA services and contact the Services Coordinated Interface at eosupport@copernicus.esa.int to request an account for the Copernicus Services Data Hub.
Products/Processing
Where are Copernicus Sentinel-1 interferometric/InSAR images available?
Copernicus Sentinel-1 acquisitions over land masses are systematically processed and made available as Level-1 SLC products for Interferometry/InSAR applications. The evolution of SLC availability since June 2014 and the current operational configuration is available on the Production Scenario page.
What DEM is used in the processing of Copernicus Sentinel-1 imagery?
Details on the DEM that is used in Copernicus Sentinel imagery processing can be found in the Technical Guide.
Why is there an overlap between Copernicus Sentinel-1 Level-0 products?
Level-0 (RAW) products constantly have an overlap at the beginning/end of each scene. The seconds of the overlap are described in the product annotation in the "generalProductInformation" section. The "s1sar:sliceOverlap" parameter is defined as follows:
"Overlap (in seconds) of input data between adjacent slices within the L0 segment to which the slice belongs (applicable if the current L0 product is a slice)" and it provides the information on the overlap between the consecutive products.
There are no overlaps between Level-1 images.
Where can I find detailed documentation on Copernicus Sentinel data products and algorithm descriptions?
Copernicus Sentinel technical guides are available here for each instrument.
Is Copernicus Sentinel-1 orbit information available to users?
Copernicus Sentinel-1 orbital products are available via the Copernicus Sentinels POD Data Hub. Until this service is in full operation, past orbit files can be downloaded from the Sentinel 1 Auxiliary data
Are the Copernicus Sentinel-1 auxiliary data files available to users?
The Copernicus Sentinel-1 auxiliary data files are available in the Copernicus Sentinel-1 Quality Control web page.
Data Quality
How can Copernicus Sentinel-1 images be un-flipped?
Some Copernicus Sentinel-1 images may appear mirrored when opened in the Copernicus Sentinel-1 toolbox. This is an effect of the acquisition geometry: the mirroring effect may be present or not depending on the combination of orbit (descending or ascending) and looking side (left or right). If an image is mirrored it is possible to flip it with the NEST toolbox using the Data Flip tool in the Utilities menu. Alternatively, the image can be flipped and, at the same time, re-projected in a desired geographic projection with the following procedure: Utilities > Reprojection > fill in the input/output boxes in the first tab and chose the projection in the second tab. Then click OK. It is recommended to launch this time-consuming process on small sub-datasets.
Are there known Copernicus Sentinel-1 product quality issues?
In case there is an issue identified in the quality of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 products available to the users, a quality disclaimer is available for user information. The quality disclaimer documents the affected products and the quality impact.
Where can I find an update on the Sentinel-2 products quality?
Data Quality Reports are published here.
Where can I find an update on the Sentinel-3 products quality?
Sentinel-3 Data Quality Reports are available, per instrument or thematic topic: OLCI, SLSTR , Altimetry
Where can I find statements on quality issues related to Copernicus Sentinel-5P products?
The data quality is routinely monitored by the Copernicus Sentinel-5P Mission Performance Centre (MPC) which is in charge, among other tasks, of issuing the Product Readme Files (PRFs). These documents include information related to changes between product revisions/collections, anomalies affecting the product quality as well as high level summary of validation results for every data product type (e.g. NO2, O3, SO2...).