Orbit - Sentinel-1 - Sentinel Handbook
Sentinel-1 will be in a near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit with a 12 day repeat cycle and 175 orbits per cycle for a single satellite. Both Sentinel-1A and Senitnel-1B share the same orbit plane with a 180° orbital phasing difference. With both satellites operating, the repeat cycle is 6 days.

Figure 1: SENTINEL-1 Constellation
In particular for interferometry, SENTINEL-1 requires stringent orbit control. Satellite positioning along the orbit must be accurate, with pointing and timing/synchronisation between interferometric pairs. Orbit positioning control for SENTINEL-1 is defined using an orbital Earth fixed "tube", 50 m (RMS) wide in radius, around a nominal operational path. The satellite is kept inside this "tube" for most of its operational lifetime.
Figure 2: SENTINEL-1 Orbit Tube
The following table contains a summary of useful orbital information for Sentinel-1A and –1B:
Altitude |
Inclination |
Period |
Cycle |
Ref. tube deviation |
Local Time at Descending Node |
693 km |
98.18 deg |
98.6 min |
12 days |
+- 100 m |
18:00 hours |