The 2.5-ton satellite launched from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 21:02 GMT on April 3 aboard a Soyuz rocket. After a series of stage separations and burns, the satellite separated from the rocket’s upper stage 23 minutes and 24 seconds after liftoff at an altitude of 430 miles. Following the separation, Sentinel-1A performed a “carefully choreographed” dance routine that lasted around 10 hours, during which the satellite opened its large 33-foot-long radar antenna and two 33-foot-long solar wings. This was deemed the most critical phase of the mission by operators, and as such, the team planned a prolonged choreographed deployment to ensure the safety of the satellite and its instruments. Satellite will be used to monitor sea ice, oil spills and land use and to respond to emergencies such as earthquakes. The European Union has launched the first satellite of its multibillion-euro Copernicus Earth observation project that will supply valuable images in the event of natural disasters or even a plane crash. The satellite, which carries a 12-metre-long radar antenna and has two 10 metre-long solar panels, is now orbiting the planet at 693 km (439 miles) above the earth. The Copernicus project, for which the EU and the European Space Agency (ESA) have committed funding of around €8.4bn until 2020, is described by the ESA as the most ambitious earth observation programme to date. Sentinel-1a, which will operate in tandem with a second satellite to be launched next year, Sentinel-1b, has high-tech instruments that will allow it to record radar images of Earth's surface, even when the skies are cloudy or dark. As part of the Copernicus program, there will be 17 launches over the next decade. GTD AT KOUROU SPACE CENTER Each time an Ariane 5, a Soyuz or a VEGA are launched from the spaceport in Guiana, as well as the payload, many hours of work are required from GTD’s technical teams. GTD supplies services and software in practically all steps of an Ariane 5 mission – from the launcher's flight program to the responsibility of ground systems that control the launching operations, as well as the radars, telemetry and mission control systems. Each launch is also a challenge for GTD’s team, who is responsible for all the computer systems at the launch site. Each launch is a fresh new project; there is no routine, which means our engineers always embark on an adventure than goes beyond technical jobs that require a lot of responsibility. Countdown: The campaign to prepare a launcher takes about 22 - 30 working days, and a campaign to prepare the payload (satellite) takes from 4 weeks to 5 months (depending on the mission and its magnitude). Our teams are currently able to launch up to seven double Ariane 5, up to four soyuz and up to two Vega per year, that is, 14 telecom satellites and 4 to 6 EO and scientific spacecraft every year. Launch day: The end of the countdown is near. The final operations to fill the liquid propellants on the Ariane 5, and then the ground operation tests are carried out on the launcher. During this stage, gtd's staff is working hard all round the Spaceport. In the launch site's bunker, the technical centre, in Des Pêres Mountain where the radar and telemetry installations are, in the meteorological centre where the last conditions before the launch is authorised. At the same time, a support team is configuring a backup of the computer systems in Barcelona, 8,000 km away from the Ariane 5, which is already letting out oxygen steam. Ariane is launched: Once the launcher is in the air, it is controlled on board (by the embedded computer) and from the Jupiter Control Centre (CDC). These two systems were also designed by GTD’s engineers and are currently being operated by GTD’s engineers, too. Once the launcher releases the payloads (at a height of 500 - 600 km), everyone breathes a sigh of relief and starts clapping and cheering and congratulating each other; but our engineers are already thinking about the next mission that starts the following morning…
