Ten Spanish companies have been involved in developing the Sentinel-1A satellite, which was launched on April 3rd from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

The launch of the Sentinel-1A satellite represents a new era for Earth observation. Ten Spanish companies have participated in the development of this important satellite: Rymsa, Sener, Thales Alenia Space España, Mier, GMV, Alter Technology, Iberespacio, Airbus Defense & Space,Elecnos Deimos and Indra.

Weather satellites carry out routine Earth observations in order to predict weather patterns. The Sentinel missions, on the other hand, will collect data for environmental services as part of the European Commission’s Copernicus program.

The satellite was carried into orbit aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, the seventh such rocket to lift off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The aim of this mission is to monitor the Earth’s surface, climate, seas and atmosphere, in order to provide support for emergency and safety operations. The program is designed to give Europe complete independence in the acquisition and management of environmental data about our planet, in support of European public policy. The EU’s Copernicus program is intended to provide data in six key areas: land management, the marine environment, the atmosphere, emergency response, security and tracking climate change.