Tag: ESA

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01:17:22

The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite has joined the Sentinel-1 mission in orbit. Launch took place on 4 November 2025 at 22:03 CET (18:03 local time) on board an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. 

The Sentinel-1 mission delivers high-resolution radar images of Earth’s surface, performing in all weathers, day-and-night. This service is used by disaster response teams, environmental agencies, maritime authorities and climate scientists, who depend on frequent updates of critical data.

The Sentinel-1D satellite will work in tandem with Sentinel-1C, flying in the same orbit but 180° apart, to optimise global coverage and data delivery. Both satellites have a C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument on board, which captures high-resolution imagery of Earth’s surface. They are also equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS) instruments to improve detection and tracking of ships. When Sentinel-1D is fully operational, it will enable more frequent AIS observations, including data on vessel identity, location and direction of passage, enabling precise tracking.

Sentinel-1D was launched on Europe’s heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6 on flight designated VA265. 

Read full story: Copernicus Sentinel-1D reaches orbit on Ariane 6

Video:
00:03:11

The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite has joined the Sentinel-1 mission in orbit. Launch took place on 4 November 2025 at 22:03 CET (18:03 local time) on board an Ariane 6 launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The Sentinel-1 mission delivers high-resolution radar images of Earth’s surface, performing in all weathers, day-and-night. This service is used by disaster response teams, environmental agencies, maritime authorities and climate scientists, who depend on frequent updates of critical data.

Sentinel-1D will work in tandem with Sentinel-1C, flying in the same orbit but 180° apart, to optimise global coverage and data delivery. Both satellites have a C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument on board, which captures high-resolution imagery of Earth’s surface. They are also equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS) instruments to improve detection and tracking of ships. When Sentinel-1D is fully operational, it will enable more frequent AIS observations, including data on vessel identity, location and direction of passage, enabling precise tracking.

Sentinel-1D was launched on Europe’s heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6 on flight designated VA265. 

Read full story: Copernicus Sentinel-1D reaches orbit on Ariane 6

From 7 to 10 October 2025, Europe and Africa took another important step toward deepening their cooperation in space. At the ESA Education Training and Learning Facility in ESEC-Galaxia, Belgium, young engineers from across both continents came together for the Space Systems Engineering Training Course, jointly supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the African Space Agency (AfSA).

Space is within reach! The European Space Agency is inviting students to apply for its 2026 Student Internship Programme. Whether you’re into engineering, science, IT, business, economics or social sciences, there’s a place for you among the stars.

Step into half a century of space innovation and join a global leader in the industry. Collaborate with seasoned professionals, contribute to groundbreaking projects and begin shaping your future in the space sector. 

Week in images: 27-31 October 2025

Discover our week through the lens

Video:
00:46:03

What began with tragedy ended in triumph. This is the untold story of the European Space Agency’s pioneering 25-year Cluster mission to study how invisible solar storms impact Earth’s environment.

Like a ship in a never-ending storm, Earth is bombarded by swarms of particles ejected from the Sun at supersonic speeds. Most of these solar wind particles are deflected by the magnetosphere and sail harmlessly by, but Earth’s shield is not bulletproof.

Since 2000, Cluster sailed the seas of the Sun and revealed the complexities of the Sun–Earth connection. After two-and-a-half incredibly successful decades in space, ESA took the decision to safely deorbit the four Cluster satellites throughout 2024–2026. The mission officially ended on 8 September 2024.

But a space mission is so much more than science. Experience Cluster’s story as told by the people who lived it: scientists and engineers Arnoud Masson, C. Philippe Escoubet, Gill Watson, Gunther Lautenschläger, Lean-Nani Alconcel, Bruno Sousa, Paulo Ferri, Patrick W. Daly, Mandred Warhaut, Silvia Sanvido and Jolene S. Pickett.

The film was produced by Space Rocks for the European Space Agency. It features an original soundtrack by Karlotta Skagfield and additional music by Bruce Dickinson.

See the film poster

Listen to the podcast series about the film

More information about the film from Space Rocks

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To celebrate Halloween, we bring you these spooky sights of Lake Carnegie in Australia, captured from space by Copernicus Sentinel-2.

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Flickering flame: spooky spirits or serious science?

Video:
00:45:45

Follow the online briefing on the launch scheduled for 4 November 2025. The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission delivers radar images of Earth’s surface. It is vital for disaster response teams, environmental agencies, maritime authorities, climate scientists.

Image:
ESA Space Safety Fleet

Four teams from different countries have been recognised for their breakthrough work in using artificial intelligence to detect earthquake damage from space, marking the conclusion of a global competition organised by the European Space Agency in collaboration with the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ – commonly referred to as ‘the Charter’.

The European Space Agency’s upcoming Henon mission will be the first ever CubeSat to independently venture into deep space, communicate with Earth and manoeuvre to its final destination without relying on a bigger spacecraft. Once in its orbit around the Sun, the carry-on luggage-sized CubeSat will observe the Sun’s emissions to demonstrate technologies capable of providing advanced warnings of solar storms hours before they reach Earth.

The role of space for security was presented at a high-level event in Brussels on Tuesday.