5 December 2024 – On December 5, 2024 (Kourou time), Vega C successfully placed on a Sun-synchronous orbit Sentinel-1C, a Copernicus satellite for the European Commission within the scope of a contract signed with the European Space Agency (ESA). This mission will provide crucial environmental data about our planet, while also carrying out Arianespace’s commitment of guaranteeing Europe’s independent access to space. Sentinel-1C is the 6th Copernicus Sentinel satellite successfully launched by Arianespace. This VV25 mission marks the successful return to flight of the Vega C launcher. Sentinel-1C, which was designed and built by Thales Alenia Space, is the 107th spacecraft built by Thales Alenia Space launched by Arianespace. Sentinel-1C is part of Copernicus, the European Union’s Space program Earth observation component. The satellite, equipped with C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging, has the advantage of operating at wavelengths that are not obstructed by clouds or lack of illumination and therefore can acquire data during day or night under all weather conditions. Read more