Copernicus Sentinel-1 (ESA)

Sentinel-1 radar sees through clouds, day and night, to map floods, earthquakes and ice; Sentinel-1C and 1D joined in 2024 and 2025.

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech (contains Copernicus Sentinel-1 data, ESA).

Sentinel-1: Mission Status

Active (Sentinel-1C and 1D). Dates per ESA; missions shift.

The Five W's of Sentinel-1

Who

ESA, for the EU's Copernicus programme.

Source: ESA, Sentinel-1

What

Radar satellites imaging Earth through cloud and darkness.

Source: ESA, Sentinel-1

When

Sentinel-1C launched December 5, 2024; Sentinel-1D November 4, 2025.

Source: ESA, Sentinel-1

Where

A 693 km orbit, covering the whole planet.

Source: ESA, Sentinel-1

Why

Continuous radar imagery for disaster response, ice, land and ocean monitoring.

Source: ESA, Sentinel-1

Impact Statement

Agency solution · active

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites carry an advanced radar that supplies all-weather, day-and-night imagery of Earth's surface. Sentinel-1C launched on December 5, 2024 and Sentinel-1D on November 4, 2025, renewing the fleet. Recent ESA stories show it measuring ground movement after earthquakes and major ice loss from Greenland glaciers.

Source: ESA, Sentinel-1

Radar that ignores weather is vital when storms and floods hit.

For Further Information: ESA, Sentinel-1

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