EO·Atlas
missions
Sentinel-3A
Sentinel-3A is an ESA-operated Copernicus Earth observation satellite for ocean, land, ice, inland-water, and atmosphere monitoring. It launched on 2016-02-16 and remains in extended operation as of 2026-06-14.[1][2] The spacecraft flies in a near-polar sun-synchronous orbit with an 814.5 km reference altitude, 98.65 degree inclination, and 10:00 descending node.[3]
The Sentinel-3A payload includes OLCI, SLSTR, SRAL, and MWR.[4] Its observation pattern is systematic monitoring rather than user tasking. The D1 mission record carries a 1,270 km swath, a two-day paired revisit with Sentinel-3B, and about 10 years of archive depth as of the 2026-06-14 verification date.[3][4]
Full specification
All fields
| current status | extended |
| operator | European Space Agency |
| launch vehicle | rockot-breeze-km |
| Launched | 2016-02-16 |
| orbit type | Near-polar sun-synchronous orbit, 814.5 km reference altitude, 98.65 degree inclination, 10:00 descending node |
| swath km | 1270 |
| tasking supported | false |
| archive depth years | 10 |
| current geographic priority | Systematic global ocean, land, ice, inland-water, and atmosphere monitoring under Copernicus |
| Last updated | 2026-06-14 |
| claim status | agency-sourced |
Where this fits, supply chain
Compositional position
Sources
- [1]Sentinel-3 facts and figures, ESAagency doc2026-06-14
- [2]S3 Mission, SentiWiki Copernicusagency doc2026-06-14
- [3]Sentinel-3, EUMETSATagency doc2026-06-14
- [4]Sentinel-3, Copernicus Sentinel Onlineagency doc2026-06-14