EU launches new satellite to collect important Earth data

BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) – The European Union has sent a new satellite into space. It is intended to provide valuable images and data that will help respond to natural disasters, monitor environmental pollution and provide information on measures to combat climate change.

The third satellite of the Copernicus Sentinel 2 mission, Sentinel-2C, was successfully launched from Kourou in French Guiana on Thursday morning.

The Sentinels are a fleet of satellites that look down on Earth and collect huge amounts of data that feed into Copernicus, the European Earth observation program.

To date, the satellites launched in this series have generated more than 34 million gigabytes of data.

The satellites capture high-resolution images of land and coastal areas that can be used for a range of purposes – from monitoring the spread of wildfires to assist emergency services to detecting methane leaks from pipelines and power plants.

Sentinel-2C will extend these capabilities and provide new biophysical data such as leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content and leaf water content that can be used to monitor the growth and health of crops and plants.

The launch of Sentinel-2C will ensure data continuity by taking the place of Sentinel-2A, which was launched in 2015 and is nearing the end of its service life.

In the coming years, Sentinel-2D will replace Sentinel-2B, launched in 2017. This service continuity into the future is crucial for companies and public institutions that incorporate the use of Copernicus data into their everyday business decisions.

Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union’s space programme.