Overview
- Vega‑C flight VV30 lifted off and placed the Copernicus Sentinel‑3C and ESA’s FLEX into a sun‑synchronous orbit on Tuesday, with both spacecraft sending first signals and confirmed healthy by ground control.
- Sentinel‑3C, equipped with instruments for sea‑surface temperature, ocean colour, altimetry and atmospheric correction, will be commissioned and then operated by EUMETSAT to continue long‑term ocean and land monitoring into the 2030s.
- FLEX carries the FLORIS fluorescence imaging spectrometer to map vegetation fluorescence at about 300 m resolution and will operate under ESA control in a roughly 3.5‑year nominal science mission flown in tandem with Sentinel‑3 satellites.
- The two satellites were stacked using a Vespa secondary payload adapter so Sentinel‑3C deployed first and FLEX followed after upper‑stage manoeuvres, demonstrating Vega‑C’s dual‑payload capability with Avio as launch service operator.
- Teams at ESA/ESOC, EUMETSAT and the European Commission will now run launch‑and‑early‑orbit checks and instrument commissioning, with mission managers conserving fuel reserves to maximise operational lifetimes and support future Copernicus expansion.