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Welcoming Sentinel-2C in the Copernicus Missions, Data and Operations Management Framework

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Welcoming Sentinel-2C in the Copernicus Missions, Data and Operations Management Framework

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The European Space Agency’s Data and Operations Management Framework (EOF) team celebrated a major achievement with the generation of the first stunning images from the Sentinel-2C satellite, launched on 5 September 2024. This milestone marks the successful onboarding of Sentinel-2C into the ESA Copernicus Missions, Data and Operations Management Framework (CSC-EOF), which already manages the operations of all flying Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3 (Land), and Sentinel-5P satellites.

 

The European Space Agency’s Data and Operations Management Framework (EOF) team celebrated a major achievement with the generation of the first stunning images from the Sentinel-2C satellite, launched on 5 September 2024. This milestone marks the successful onboarding of Sentinel-2C into the ESA Copernicus Missions, Data and Operations Management Framework (CSC-EOF), which already manages the operations of all flying Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3 (Land), and Sentinel-5P satellites.

Seville from Copernicus Sentinel-2C captured on 13/09/2024

 

Sentinel-2C onboards into the existing Copernicus operational framework

ESA transitioned in 2021 from a traditional mission-centric ground segment approach, towards a Copernicus Ground Segment data-centric and service-oriented architecture, relying on existing European infrastructure and industrial services, managed on the basis of a common operations model ensuring flexibility, resilience and cost efficiency.

The establishment of streamlined and harmonized interfaces across services, based on state-of-the-art solutions, along with a qualified pool of industrial providers to deliver the necessary services, has transformed the Copernicus Ground Segment into an operational framework of services (also hereafter referred as the “CSC missions, data and operations management framework"). This framework is designed to efficiently manage the operations of all active Sentinel-1/2/3/5P satellites, while also facilitating the onboarding of recurrent satellite units and new missions. The onboarding process leverages synergies across missions and satellites, focusing on configuring existing services and interfaces, expanding operational capacity, as well as developing, evolving and integrating any necessary satellite-specific elements.  This approach optimises the time and cost to prepare the entry in operations of new satellites, maintaining sufficient flexibility to cope with changes between recurrent units or associated to new missions characteristics.

Sentinel-2C initial operations in the CSC ESA Missions, Data and Operations Management Framework (EOF)

The smooth planning of the Sentinel-2C satellite observations, followed by the swift end-to-end operations on ground, up to the availability in the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem of such a high-quality images out of the box for the commissioning phase team, confirms the robustness of the Copernicus Ground Segment and of its underlying operations model.

 

France–Spain strip from Sentinel-2C captured on 14/09/2024

 

A rigorous onboarding preparation process

These first stunning Sentinel-2C images represent just the visible tip of the iceberg. “Behind the availability of such high-quality data only a week after satellite launch, resides the work of professional and highly committed teams at ESA and in Industry”, emphasises Bérénice Guédel, who leads at ESA the team in charge of the Copernicus EOF operational industrial services management.

While the new Copernicus architecture and operational model significantly streamlines the onboarding of a new satellite unit, it still demands a thorough preparation to guarantee all the industrial services composing the Copernicus EOF are scaled and configured as necessary to support and operate as a whole the new satellite. This requires also implementing and integrating any mission or satellite specific elements and managing the unique features possibly introduced by a new mission. Thorough verification remains essential to ensure compatibility between existing or updated elements and the actual satellite implementation as part of the satellite verification tests. Roberto De Bonis, ESA’s EOF Sentinel-2C Operations Manager, explains that “Sentinel-2C introduces a new calibration mode and changes in the navigation ancillary data which have required a careful evolution and validation of the pre-existing Sentinel-2 specific elements”.

The necessary modifications to the configuration of operational services and interfaces were identified and triggered months prior to the launch. “These changes were implemented by the relevant industrial service providers and meticulously coordinated and verified by the Copernicus Coordination Desk Service through dedicated test campaigns before launch”, explains Bogdana Tsonevska, managing this Service at ESA. Andrea Bolle (Telespazio, Italy), the Coordination Desk Service manager, highlights “the Coordination Desk Service team has a central role in coordinating and interacting with the industrial services in a coherent end-to-end process, and in facilitating efficient decisions-making, especially, in the critical first days after launch, when it is essential to ensure that all actors have timely access to the information.”

 

Acquisition of the first Sentinel-2C downlink at the X-Band Ground Station operated by e-GEOS in Matera, Italy.

 

The challenges of the first days after launch

Immediately following the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP),  Sentinel-2C happened to cross the visibility mask of the Matera Ground Station (Italy) at the very same time as the operational routine acquisition of one of its siblings, the Sentinel-2B satellite, creating a likely risk of radio frequency interferences. Paolo Rutigliano (e-GEOS, Telespazio/ASI company, Italy), the Service Manager for the X-Band Acquisition Service at Matera and his team, are well versed in this domain: “The first Sentinel-2C X-Band downlinks, immediately after the end of the LEOP, were successfully acquired using the orbit information freshly made available by the ESA flight dynamics team in ESOC”. Andrea Ferrari, the Spacecraft Operations Manager at ESA/ESOC further commented that “the close coordination with the Space Segment, the Flight Operations Segment teams at ESA/ESOC, and the Ground Segment Coordination Desk Service team on the spot in Matera allowed to swiftly replan the successive Sentinel-2C satellite downlinks and efficiently mitigate the risk of interferences between the satellites in their respective passes over the station”.  

X-Band antenna of the Matera ground station used for Sentinel-2C acquisitions

Everything had also been carefully prepared by the Sentinel-2A Production Service team, additionally in charge of the productions for Sentinel-2C, ready to manage the first Sentinel-2C MSI data acquisitions. Jean-Philippe Audoin (ATOS, France), the Sentinel-2C Production Service Manager, however explained that “the team worked tirelessly, around the clock, in investigating an unexpected issue in the processing of the first MSI test mode image ”.

The analysis of this first data was quickly triggered with the involvement of Exprivia and their key expertise in converting the satellite data stream into Level-0 products. Giuseppe Casasanta (Exprivia, Italy) explains: “the careful analysis of the data recorded from the first downlink allowed us to promptly identify the lack of one specific data record in the satellite data stream, which happens to be crucial to the product construction algorithm and prevented the nominal processing.”

Thanks to the close coordination put in place for the commissioning, the satellite configuration could be quickly updated to ensure the availability of this crucial telemetry record, on time for all subsequent MSI acquisitions. The first Sentinel-2C MSI observations in nominal mode were then acquired and processed “out of the box”, allowing the release of this first set of images of spectacular quality.”

“We’ve been delighted to witness the compatibility of the upgraded processor with the new GNSS equipment embarked on-board Sentinel-2C. The products geolocation quality is yet not perfect prior to any fine calibration, but already very good” commented Laëtitia Pessiot (CS GROUP, France), responsible for the maintenance and evolutions of the Sentinel-2 operational processor software.

Sentinel-2C observations and downlink scheduling started nominally as part of the Sentinels Mission Planning Service operations, already ensuring the routine planning activities for Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B satellites. Juan Tejo (GMV, Spain), the Mission Planning Service Manager, explains “We are very pleased to see that the Sentinels Mission Planning Service was able to swiftly start the operational planning of Sentinel-2C just a few days after launch, and could already support the planning of these first images. This has been possible thanks to the thoughtful pre-launch testing, and to the synergies with the routine operational processes already in place for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites”.

An additional X-band acquisition station located in Svalbard was swiftly activated in addition to Matera to support the first image acquisitions. Franck Desbouillons, the ESA Acquisition Service Manager explains that “progressively, other X-band acquisition stations, located in Inuvik, Maspalomas and Punta Arenas are being activated in line with the gradual increase of Sentinel-2C observations, to receive the growing amounts of payload data and bring it timely and safely to the Production Service”[1].

“The quality of Sentinel-2 data is continuously monitored and precisely calibrated to ensure its reliability for a broad spectrum of applications”, explains Valentina Boccia, ESA’s Sentinel-2 Products Quality Manager. Jérôme Bruniquel (ACRI-ST, France), the Service Manager of the Optical Mission Performance Cluster Service, commented “the first data received demonstrate an excellent performance for the new MSI and a remarkable initial pre-launch calibration, we are now eager to start the fine in-orbit calibration and validation activities according to the coordinated plan orchestrated by the space segment teams and help bring the C unit to routine operations”.

Ferran Gascon, the Sentinel-2 Mission Manager, further underlines: “the successful launch of Sentinel-2C, along with the already impressive data quality even before in-flight calibration, provides strong confidence that the new unit will ensure the intended mission continuity, supporting operational services and scientific research for many more years to come”.

 

Looking Forward

“The commissioning of the Sentinel-2C satellite, including the calibration of the MSI instrument, will carry-on as scheduled” explains Constantin Mavrocordatos, the Project Manager for the Sentinel-2 Space Segment, “with the aim of confirming that the satellite and its MSI payload meet the high standards unquestionably established over the years with the A and B sibling satellites.” “We are also very keen to demonstrating  the newly introduced ‘Moon Calibration’ technique with Sentinel-2C, involving rotating the satellite sideways in order to capture reference images of the Moon, which is expected to pave the way to further enhancing the routine calibration performance for all Sentinel-2 satellites in the fleet”, he concluded.

Image of the Moon captured by Sentinel-2C on 20/09/2024, see related article

The operational nature of Copernicus and its long-term vision, with recurrent satellite units being launched to replace the aging units to ensure data continuity, together with its open and free data policy, renders Copernicus a truly unique Programme. Sentinel-2C is the first “replacement unit” launched for a Sentinel mission. “Sentinel-2C is the first satellite to benefit from the innovative on-boarding model enabled by the new Copernicus operational framework, relying on the scalability of existing European infrastructure, the excellence of industrial operational services and streamlined interfaces”, explains Olivier Colin, Head of the Copernicus Missions Operations Management team, “and the smooth integration of the new satellite in operations demonstrates the effectiveness of the onboarding model, that will be followed also for the next Sentinel satellite units”.

The successful onboarding of Sentinel-2C is yet another demonstration of how the new EOF paradigm for managing CSC operations continues to pay off, ensuring both the flexibility and performance of the Sentinel operations and ultimately in guaranteeing the reliable availability of high-quality Sentinel data.

With the successful release of the first images, Sentinel-2C is now fully on-board the Copernicus EOF operations, opening the door decisively towards the next steps.

 

Special Thanks

**** The success of Copernicus Space Component Missions, Data and Operations Management Framework in efficiently delivering high-quality Sentinel data readily available for a large spectrum of applications, operational services and scientific activities, leverages on the excellence and commitment of the involved industrial teams: ****


[1] Svalbard ground stations is located in Norway and is operatated by KSAT, Inuvik and Punta Arenas ground stations are operated by SSC and are respectively located in Canada and in Chile; Maspalomas Ground Station is located in Canary Island (Spain) and is operated by INTA.