Sentinel-2B


Sentinel-2B is a European optical imaging satellite that was launched on 7 March 2017. It is the second Sentinel-2 satellite launched as part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme, and its orbit will be phased 180° degrees against Sentinel-2A. The satellite carries a wide swath high-resolution multispectral imager with 13 spectral bands. It will provide information for agriculture and forestry, among others allowing for prediction of crop yields.

Mission history

A €105 million contract for the construction of the spacecraft was signed in March 2010 by ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes and the CEO of Astrium Satellites. It was completed in June 2016, and the satellite was transported to the European Space Research and Technology Centre for the test campaign.

Launch

The spacecraft arrived at the Guiana Space Centre on 6 January 2017 for pre-launch operations.
Launch took place at the nominal time of 01:49:24 UTC on 7 March 2017 on board Vega flight VV09. The spacecraft was injected into its target orbit at 02:47:21 UTC.