Europe's space
program has launched one of its new generation of satellites aimed at giving
scientists a better view of Earth. Sentinel-2A is equipped with new equipment
that will allow it to pick out more colors.
Deutsche Welle, 23 June 2015
The
European Space Agency confirmed early on Tuesday that Sentinel-2A, the latest
in its array of satellite aimed at monitoring environmental change, was safely
in orbit.
2nd #Copernicus environmental satellite #Sentinel2 A safely in orbit http://t.co/wDMxZRJbV3 pic.twitter.com/x8fc3M5HwV
— ESA (@esa) 23 juni 2015
The
announcement came soon after the agency confirmed the satellite had
successfully deployed its solar panels.
From an
orbital spot 488 miles (786 kilometers) above Earth, the satellite will collect
data to document environmental changes and help shape reaction to natural
disasters.
The
satellite was lifted into position by an unmanned Vega rocket that blasted off
late on Monday from the Guiana Space Center at Kourou, French Guinana.
Sentinel-2A
adds a high resolution capability to the EU's Copernicus monitoring system. It
is the latest part of the 4.3-billion-euro ($4.85-billion) Sentinel program to
upgrade Copernicus and will operate in tandem with another satellite, to be
launched in 2016.
Sentinel-2A was developed with the intention of revisiting areas of interest more frequently than before |
"By
frequently revisiting areas, it will allow a new generation of operational
products, from land cover and change detection maps, disaster maps and leaf
area index to chlorophyll content and other bio-geophysical variables,"
said Volker Liebig, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes.
The latest
satellite's predecessor, Sentinel-1A, was launched in April 2014 to scan the
Earth's surface with cloud-penetrating radar.
As one of
the EU's flagship space initiatives, Copernicus monitors the world's land
surfaces, oceans and atmosphere for evidence of environmental change and
damage.
The
European Remote Sensing Satellite, launched in 1995, was the first spacecraft
to contribute to Copernicus. Initially known as Global Monitoring for
Environment and Security, the initiative was renamed in 2013 after the Polish
astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who determined that the Earth orbited the Sun.
rc/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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