This article focuses primarily on the FOS, based at ESOC. Like many Earth missions at ESA, the ground segment for Sentinel-2 (see more on building a ‘ ground segment’) is split into two halves: the Flight Operations Segment (FOS) for flight control and the Payload Data Ground Segment (PDGS) for downloading, processing and distributing the MSI images. Mission operations overview Sentinel-2A team He joined the Sentinel-2 mission in 2010, and prior to Sentinel-2A launch in 2015, he was responsible for training and managing the Flight Control Team and for ensuring that that the flight operations 'ground segment' – the systems on Earth that enable satellite control – matched the demanding scientific, technical and operational requirements of the Copernicus programme. The team are supported by other specialists at ESOC, including experts from flight dynamics, ground facilities, tracking stations, space debris and mission data systems.įor each launch campaign and during the critical few weeks following each lift-off, the team is augmented by additional engineers and specialists.įranco has more than 12 years’ experience working on sophisticated Earth missions, including CryoSat-1, CryoSat-2 and MetOp-A. They work in a control room dedicated to Sentinels located at ESOC under Spacecraft Operations Manager Franco Marchese and deputy Spacecraft Operations Manager Michelle Collins, and in close coordination with the teams operating the other Sentinel missions. In the routine phase, the Sentinel-2 Flight Control Team comprises six engineers dedicated to Sentinel 2A and 2B, and a team of spacecraft controllers shared between all the Sentinel missions. The Sentinel-2 Flight Operations Control Centre is located at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany. ++ Delivering rapid, high-resolution data and imagery that are central to Vega/Kourou, French Guiana (both launches) ROLEĮarth observation (EO) as part of Europe's Copernicus programme Sentinels-2A and -2B will fly an initial nominal mission of seven years, with extensions possible until on-board consumables are exhausted (each carries 123 kg of fuel including that necessary for end-of-life deorbiting), to a maximum of 12 years. The Flight Control Team uploads commands and receives satellite status and health information via ESA's Estrack ground station at Kiruna, Sweden. The data are transmitted to the Sentinel ground stations and via high data-rate laser links to a geostationary telecoms satellite, Alphasat, and via the European Data Relay Satellite ( EDRS) system, as well as using the more usual x-band radio data downlink. The MSI payloads acquire, store and then download up to 1.6 TB of data per orbit. Sentinel-2A has been in orbit since 23 June 2015, and Sentinel-2B launched on 7 March 2017. Together they cover all Earth’s land surfaces, large islands, inland and coastal waters every five days at the equator.īoth spacecraft are operated by a dedicated Flight Control Team from ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) Darmstadt, Germany. The ‘space segment’ of the Sentinel-2 mission comprises a constellation of two identical satellites in the same orbit, 180° apart for optimal coverage and data delivery. The combination of high resolution, novel spectral capabilities, a swath width of 290 km and frequent revisit times will provide unprecedented views of Earth. Sentinel-2 carries an innovative wide-swath high-resolution multispectral imager with 13 spectral bands for new perspectives of our land and vegetation. This unique environmental monitoring programme is changing the way we manage our environment, understand and tackle the effects of climate change and safeguard everyday lives. The Sentinels are a fleet of satellites designed specifically to deliver the wealth of data and imagery that are central to the European Commission’s Copernicus programme.
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