Copernicus satellite Sentinel-2A ready for launch

The European Copernicus programme is ready to launch its second satellite on 23 June.

The date for the Sentinel-2A to be launched was confirmed during an ESA and industry advisory board meeting over the past few days related to an investigation into Vega’s fairing separation and the replacement of a gas pressure sensor on the vehicle.

The new satellite that will be launched on 23 June at 01:52 GMT (03:52 CEST 23 June; 22:52 local time 22 June), from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. It will carry an innovative wide-swath, high-resolution multispectral imager with 13 spectral bands for a new perspective of land and vegetation on Earth.

The second satellite of the mission, Sentinel-2B is being prepared for launch in 2016.