(Timelapse) Sentinel-2A being encapsulated within the half-shells of the Vega rocket fairing and integrated at the top of the launcher, in June 2015 at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Sentinel-2A will soon be launched from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on top of a Vega launcher, making it the second satellite in orbit for Europe's Copernicus programme. <br /> <br />The Sentinel-2 mission carries an optical payload with visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared sensors with a swath width of 290 km. The polar-orbiting, multispectral high-resolution imaging mission for land monitoring will provide, for example, imagery of vegetation, soil and water cover, inland waterways and coastal areas, as well as deliver information for emergency services. <br /> <br />Sentinel-2A – and its sister satellite Sentinel-2B, to be launched next year – are part of the family of Sentinel missions that ESA is developing specifically for the operational needs of the environment-monitoring Copernicus programme, headed by the European Commission. Each mission is based on a constellation of two satellites to fulfill revisit and coverage requirements, providing robust datasets for Copernicus Services. <br /> <br />Credits: <br />Directed by Stephane Corvaja, ESA; Manuel Pedoussaut, Zetapress <br />Music by Cosmos Effect HUBRID
