Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Sentinel-1B lifts off

Sentinel-1B lifted off on a Soyuz rocket, flight VS14, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 25 April 2016 at 21:02 GMT (23:02 CEST). With the Sentinel...

Sentinel-1B

Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Soyuz Launch Complex Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Sentinel-1 is a two satellite constellation for land and ocean monitoring. C-band imaging will provide an all-weather day-and-night supply of imagery for Copernicus user services. This is the second and last satellite launched of the pair.

Soyuz STA

Family:
Configuration: Fregat

The 2.1a version includes conversion from analog to digital flight control system and uprated engines on the booster and the first stage with improved injection systems. The new digital flight control and telemetry systems allow the rocket to launch from a fixed rather than angled launch platform and adjust its heading in flight. A digital control system also enables the launch of larger commercial satellites with wider and longer payload fairings such as the ST-type fairing. These fairings introduce too much aerodynamic instability for the old analog system to handle. This stage continues to use the RD-0110 engine. The 2.1a/ST version is sometimes called Soyuz ST-A.

Specifications
  • Stages
    3
  • Length
    46.3 m
  • Diameter
    2.95 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    312.0 T
  • Thrust
Family
  • Name
    Soyuz STA
  • Family
  • Variant
    Fregat
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Soyuz STA Fregat
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    7020.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    2810.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    4230.0 kg

Progress Rocket Space Center

Progress Rocket Space Center

(PRSC)

CEO: Dmitry Baranov Founded: 1996 Successes: 44 Failures: 1 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

Progress Rocket Space Centre, formerly known as TsSKB-Progress, is a space science and aerospace research company which is known for manufacturing launch vehicles and satellites. Most notably, Progress Rocket Space Centre is the manufacturer of Soyuz launch vehicles.

INFO WIKI

Related News

ESA

Sentinel-1B journeys back to Earth

The Sentinel-1B satellite, the second satellite of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, completed its disposal process – which included lowering its orbit and passivating its systems to ensure re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere within 25 years.

SpaceNews

ESA ends efforts to recover Sentinel-1B

The European Space Agency is ending efforts to restore operations of the Sentinel-1B radar imaging satellite that malfunctioned more than half a year ago and will instead move up the launch of a replacement.

SpaceNews

Hope fading for recovery of European radar imaging satellite

ESA officials said prospects are dimming for the recovery of a radar imaging satellite that malfunctioned nearly three months ago, but that efforts to save the spacecraft continue.

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Soyuz Launch Complex


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 13 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-68
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 21 hours ago
Starlink Group 9-11
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 4B
Success
3 days, 4 hours ago
Haiyang 4-01
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Next generation Chinese ocean salinity measurements satellite to study ocean climatic changes and its effects on ecology and biological cycles.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 5 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-69
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 9 hours ago
Koreasat 6A
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

The Koreasat 6A spacecraft, built by Thales Alenia Space, will have 20 transponders for fixed satellite services and six for TV broadcasting to repla…


Kinetica 1
Success
5 days, 23 hours ago
15 satellites
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Launch of 15 satellites on share-ride to SSO: * Shiyan 26 A/B/C * Jilin-1 High Resolution-05B * Jilin-1 Platform-02A-03 * Yunyao-1 31-36 * Xig…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 9-10
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2
Success
1 week ago
PIESAT-2 01-04
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 6-77
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes (Protosat-1)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Launch of a yet to identified satellite to SSO for an undisclosed customer. The customer is highly likely to be Low Earth Orbit communication satelli…