The signature of a €450 million contract to build two more satellites for the Sentinel-3 mission was celebrated by ESA and Thales Alenia Space of France at an event in Paris yesterday.
The signature of a €450 million contract to build two more satellites for the Sentinel-3 mission was celebrated by ESA and Thales Alenia Space of France at an event in Paris yesterday.
Sentinel-3 is based on a constellation of two satellites to systematically measure Earth's oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics.
The first – Sentinel-3A – is set for launch next week, while its sister satellite Sentinel-3B planned for launch in 2017.
While Thales Alenia Space has been leading a consortium of more than 100 companies to build the first two units, the contract signed yesterday initiates the development of Sentinel-3C and -3D, ensuring data continuity for Europe's environment monitoring Copernicus programme until 2030.