Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) is the European programme to establish a European capacity for Earth Observation. GMES is designed to provide European policy makers and public ...authorities with accurate and timely information to better manage the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security. Sentinel-3 is an Earth observation satellite mission specifically designed for GMES to ensure the long-term collection and operational delivery of high-quality measurements to GMES ocean, land, and atmospheric services, while contributing to the GMES, emergency and security services. Key Sentinel-3 measurement requirements, corresponding to identified GMES user needs, have been derived as follows:•Sea surface topography (SSH), significant wave height (Hs) and surface wind speed derived over the global ocean to an equivalent accuracy and precision as that presently achieved by ENVISAT Radar Altimeter-2 (RA-2) but with enhanced surface topography measurements in the coastal zone, sea ice regions and over inland rivers, their tributaries and lakes.•Sea surface temperature (SST) determined for oceanic and coastal waters globally to an equivalent accuracy and precision as that presently achieved by the ENVISAT Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) over the ocean (i.e. <0.3K), at a spatial resolution of 1km.•Visible, and Short-Wave Infrared radiances for oceanic, inland and coastal waters at a spatial resolution of 0.3km (simultaneously and co-registered with SST measurements), determined to an equivalent level of accuracy and precision as ENVISAT Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer with complete ocean coverage in 2–3days.•Visible and infrared radiances over global land-surfaces in 1–2days, sea-ice and ice-sheets equivalent to those currently provided from ENVISAT MERIS, AATSR and Système Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) Vegetation.
The Sentinel-3 mission addresses these requirements by implementing and operating:•A dual frequency, Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter (SRAL) instrument supported by a dual frequency passive microwave radiometer (MWR) for wet-tropospheric correction, a Precise Orbit Determination package including a GPS receiver, a DORIS instrument and a laser retro-reflector.•A highly sensitive Ocean and Land Colour Imager (OLCI) delivering multi-channel wide-swath optical measurements for ocean and land surfaces.•A dual-view Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) delivering accurate surface ocean, land, and ice temperature.•A collaborative ground segment providing management of the mission, management, development, production and access to core data products in an operational near real time delivery context.
The mission foresees a series of satellites, each having 7-year lifetime, over a 20-year period starting with the launch of Sentinel-3A in late 2013 and of Sentinel-3B in late 2014. During full operations two identical satellites will be maintained in the same orbit with a phase delay of 180°.
This paper provides an overview of the GMES Sentinel-3 mission including the mission background and user requirements, a technical description of the space segment, a brief overview of the ground segment concept, and a summary description of Sentinel-3 data products and their anticipated performance.
► A new satellite mission called Sentinel-3 dedicated to oceanography is described. ► A technical overview of the Sentinel-3 instrument payload is presented. ► A summary of the Sentinel-3 ground segment and operations concept is presented. ► A summary of products derived from Sentinel-3 payload instruments is presented.
The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL) mission is one of
six high-priority candidate missions (HPCMs) under consideration by the European
Commission to enlarge the ...Copernicus Space Component. Together, the
high-priority candidate missions fill gaps in the measurement capability of
the existing Copernicus Space Component to address emerging and urgent user
requirements in relation to monitoring anthropogenic CO2 emissions,
polar environments, and land surfaces. The ambition is to enlarge the
Copernicus Space Component with the high-priority candidate missions in the
mid-2020s to provide enhanced continuity of services in synergy with the
next generation of the existing Copernicus Sentinel missions. CRISTAL will
carry a dual-frequency synthetic-aperture radar altimeter as its primary
payload for measuring surface height and a passive microwave radiometer to
support atmospheric corrections and surface-type classification. The
altimeter will have interferometric capabilities at Ku-band for improved
ground resolution and a second (non-interferometric) Ka-band frequency to
provide information on snow layer properties. This paper outlines the user
consultations that have supported expansion of the Copernicus Space
Component to include the high-priority candidate missions, describes the
primary and secondary objectives of the CRISTAL mission, identifies the key
contributions the CRISTAL mission will make, and presents a concept – as far
as it is already defined – for the mission payload.
The sentinel-3 mission overview Seitz, B; Mavrocordatos, C; Rebhan, H ...
2010 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium,
2010-July
Conference Proceeding
In the frame of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program ESA is currently implementing the Sentinel-3 mission 3, 4. It is designed as a constellation of two identical polar ...orbiting satellites, separated by 180 deg, for the provision of long-term operational marine and land monitoring services. These services include the generation of land and ocean colour products, sea and land surface temperature, vegetation products and sea, ice and land surface topography. With a planned launch in 2013 of the first satellite, the Sentinel-3 mission will provide valuable information for scientists and policy makers in the European Union and its Member States for the next decades. The operational character of this mission implies a high level of availability of the data products and fast delivery time, which have been important design drivers for the mission.
The Sentinel-3 (S3) mission is developed as part of the Copernicus Space Component (CSC) Programme to fulfil the space-based observation requirements in response to European policy priorities with a ...particular emphasis on the Copernicus core services as identified by the Commission. The Sentinel-3 main objectives are to measure sea-surface topography, sea- and land-surface temperature and ocean- and land-surface colour in support of ocean forecasting systems, and for environmental and climate monitoring. A series of Sentinel-3 satellites will ensure global, frequent and near-real time ocean, ice and land monitoring, with the provision of observation data in routine, long term (up to 20 years of operations) and continuous fashion, with a consistent quality and a high level of reliability and availability. Sentinel-3 carries an Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI), a Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR), a SAR Radar altimeter (SRAL) supported by a Microwave Radiometer (MWR) and a suite of orbit determination instruments. A full description of Sentinel-3 can be found in Donlon et al (2012). The paper will focus on S3 optical payloads described in Nieke et al (2015) and Coppo et al (2015).
The Copernicus Programme, being Europe's Earth Observation and Monitoring Programme led by the European Union, aims to provide, on a sustainable basis, reliable and timely services related to ...environmental and security issues. The Copernicus Programme uses multiple source data and comprises a service component, a space infrastructure component and an in-situ component. The objective of the Copernicus Space Component (CSC) Programme is to fulfil the space-based observation requirements in response to European policy priorities with a particular emphasis on the Copernicus core services as identified by the Commission. It aims at developing a fully operational capability in view of feeding Copernicus services with satellite data. The CSC Programme also aims at the operational provision of satellite data for other European and national services. The main data source for the CSC Programme are the Sentinels, dedicated missions providing continuity to past or present data sets. In addition, the CSC Programme covers the development and operations of a Data Access Layer, the Coordinated Data System (CDS), aiming at providing Copernicus Services with satellite data from other than Sentinel missions (ESA, National, EUMETSAT and other Third Party Missions) of relevance to the overall space component of Copernicus.
ESA's Sentinel-3 Mission - Status and Performance Mecklenburg, S.; Dransfeld, S.; Gascon, F. ...
IGARSS 2018 - 2018 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium,
2018-July
Conference Proceeding
The Sentinel-3 mission forms part of the Copernicus Space Component. Its main objectives are to measure sea-surface topography, sea- and land-surface temperature and ocean- and land-surface colour in ...support of ocean forecasting systems, and for environmental and climate monitoring. The series of Sentinel-3 satellites will ensure global, frequent and near-real time ocean, ice and land monitoring, with the provision of observation data in routine, long term (up to 20 years of operations) and continuous fashion, with a consistent quality and a high level of reliability and availability. The Sentinel-3 mission addresses these requirements by implementing and operating the following instruments, building on experience and heritage from the ERS and ENVISAT missions: *A dual frequency, delay-Doppler Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter (SRAL) instrument supported by a dual frequency passive microwave radiometer (MWR) for wet-tropospheric correction, and a Precise Orbit Determination package. This combined package provides measurements of sea-surface height and topography measurements over sea ice, ice sheets, rivers and lakes. *A highly sensitive Ocean and Land Colour Imager (OLCI) delivering multichannel wide-swath optical measurements for ocean and land surfaces. With 21 bands, compared to the 15 on Envisat's MERIS, a design optimised to minimise sun-glint and, a resolution of 300 m over all surfaces, OLCI marks a new generation of measurements over the ocean and land. The swath of OCLI and nadir SLSTR fully overlap. *A dual-view Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) delivering accurate surface ocean, land, and ice temperature, with an accuracy better than 0.3 K. SLSTR measures in 9 spectral channels and two additional bands optimised for fire monitoring. SLSTR has a spatial resolution in the visible and shortwave infrared channels of 500 m and 1 km in the thermal infrared channels.
The Copernicus Programme, being Europe's Earth Observation and Environment Monitoring Programme led by the European Union, aims to provide, on a sustainable basis, reliable and timely services ...related to environmental and security issues. The Copernicus Programme uses multiple source data and comprises a service component, a space infrastructure component and an in-situ component. The objective of the Copernicus Space Component (CSC) Programme is to fulfil the space-based observation requirements in response to European policy priorities with a particular emphasis on the Copernicus core services as identified by the European Commission. It aims at developing a fully operational capability in view of feeding Copernicus services with satellite data. The CSC Programme also aims at the operational provision of satellite data for other European and national services. The main data source for the CSC Programme are the Sentinels, dedicated missions providing continuity to past or present data sets. In addition, the CSC Programme covers the development and operations of a Data Access Layer, the Coordinated Data access System (CDS), aiming at providing Copernicus Services also with satellite data from other missions (by ESA, National, EUMETSAT and other Third Party Missions) that are of relevance to the overall space component of Copernicus.
The Sentinel-3 Mission: Overview and status Donlon, C.; Berruti, B.; Mecklenberg, S. ...
2012 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium,
2012-July
Conference Proceeding
The series of Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Sentinel satellites will continue and extend the European heritage of ENVISAT to provide data to numerous user communities. ...Sentinel-3 is being developed to support GMES Ocean and global Land monitoring services. Two Sentinel-3 satellites are in development with a first launch in 2014 and the second satellite expected approximately 18 months after the first. This paper provides an overview of the Sentinel-3 Mission.
In the frame of GMES Program, ESA is currently starting the implementation phase of Sentinel-3 mission, which is intended to provide sustained Ocean and Land observation data over a period of 15 to ...20 years. The Topography element of this mission will serve primarily the marine operational users but will also allow the monitoring of sea ice and land ice, as well as inland water surfaces, using novel observation techniques. The launch date for this mission is currently foreseen mid 2012.
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