As preparations for the launch of Sentinel-2A continue on track, the team at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana has said farewell to the satellite as it was sealed from view in the Vega rocket fairing. Liftoff is set for 23 June at 01:52 GMT (03:52 CEST; 22:52 local time on 22 June).

Since its arrival at the launch site at the end of April, Sentinel-2A has been through a series of stringent tests to confirm there was no damage during the flight from Germany.

These tests have made sure that everything is in good working order so that this new satellite will deliver the images to monitor Earth's vegetation and changing lands.

The delicate and risky task of fuelling the satellite took place last week, after which it was joined to the Vega adapter.