Sentinel-1A and 1B are a twin pair of satellites that carry a C-band synthetic aperture radar and are operated by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Sentinel-1A was launched on the 3rd April 2014 and Sentinel-1B on the 25th April 2016 at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana upon a Soyuz rocket.
The mission of Sentinel 1 is acquisition of Earth imagery using C-Band SAR data. Both satellites carry the C-band synthetic-aperture radar instrument where data can be collected day or night and in all weather conditions. These two identical satellites operate at the same altitude of 693km in a sun-synchronous orbit. They have an ability to map the entire Earth every 12 days. Within 1 hour of acquisition radar data can be delivered to Copernicus – the European Union Earth observation and monitoring programme.
Radar imagery from the Sentinel 1 mission can be used for various applications such as land surface movement monitoring via the creation of InSAR images. Data is also used for marine applications such as ocean oil spills or sea ice conditions and emergency response to name a few.
Features and Benefits
- Applications include marine or land monitoring and emergency response.
- Revisits every 12 days (combined constellation).
- Has a large swath width of up to 400km.
- Provides accurate soil moisture estimates.
- Surface movement monitoring through InSAR imagery.
Technical Specifications
Specification | Details |
Satellites | 2 |
Orbit | Sun-synchronous |
Modes | Stripmap (SM) Interferometric Wide swath (IW) Extra wide swath (EW) Wave (WV) |
Nominal Resolution | Full Resolution (FR) for SM mode |
Incident Angles | Stripmap: 40-45 degrees Interferometric Wide swath: 29-46 degrees Extra wide swath: 19-47 degrees Wave: 22-38 degrees |
Polarisation | Single: HH or VV Dual: HH+HV or VV+VH |
Band | C-Band |
Swatch Width | Up to 400km |
Nominal Look Direction | Right |