Sentinel-2B

Sentinel-2B is the second flight unit of ESA's Sentinel-2 constellation, part of the European Union Copernicus programme, launched on 7 March 2017 into a sun-synchronous orbit at 786 km altitude and 10:30 local time descending node.^[1] The satellite carries the Multispectral Instrument (MSI), which images in 13 spectral bands from 443 nm to 2190 nm with a 290 km swath and ground sampling distances of 10 m, 20 m, and 60 m depending on band.^[2] Operating in a 180-degree phased pair with a constellation partner, Sentinel-2B provides a 10-day individual revisit and a 5-day combined revisit at the equator.^[2] Principal applications include crop monitoring and agricultural area classification, forest and land-cover change detection, coastal and inland water quality assessment, and emergency risk mapping.^[1] The Sentinel-2 satellite system was developed by an industrial consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space.^[2] Sentinel-2B is past its original 7.25-year design life; WMO OSCAR records its service status as operational^[3] while the EO-Atlas lifecycle class is set to extended to reflect the design-life exceedance.^[4] As of early 2025, Sentinel-2B forms the nominal pair with Sentinel-2C following the transfer of duty from Sentinel-2A on 21 January 2025.^[5]