ESA
The European Space Agency, which develops the Copernicus Sentinels and scientific satellites such as Gaia and Euclid.
Fleet
Satellites and constellations operated by ESA that are modelled in this encyclopedia.
- HipparcosRetired
ESA's pioneering astrometry satellite, which precisely measured the positions, distances, and motions of over 100,000 stars — the forerunner of Gaia. An apogee-motor failure left it in a highly elliptical orbit, yet it still delivered landmark astrometric catalogues.
OperatorESAOrbitHighly ellipticalLaunched1989 - Sentinel-1Active
A Copernicus radar-imaging mission providing all-weather, day-and-night synthetic-aperture radar imagery of land and ocean.
OperatorESAOrbitSun-synchronousLaunched2014 - Sentinel-2Active
A Copernicus optical-imaging mission delivering high-resolution multispectral imagery for land monitoring, agriculture, and disaster response.
OperatorESAOrbitSun-synchronousLaunched2015 - Sentinel-3Active
A Copernicus mission monitoring ocean and land surface temperature, colour, and topography for climate and marine services.
OperatorESAOrbitSun-synchronousLaunched2016
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- ESAEuropean Space Agency
European missions, observatories, and space science imagery.