An Ariane 6 is scheduled to lift off from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana today at 4:03 p.m. EST (2103 GMT; 6:03 p.m. local time in Kourou), carrying the Sentinel-1D Earth-observation satellite to low Earth orbit (LEO).
You can watch the action live here at Space.com courtesy of Arianespace, or directly via the France-based company, which operates the Ariane 6 for the European Space Agency (ESA). Coverage will begin about 30 minutes before launch.
The Ariane 6 is the successor to the Ariane 5, which retired in July 2023 after 27 years of service. The new rocket debuted with a checkered July 2024 test flight, then followed that up with two fully successful operational launches, in March and August of this year.
Ariane 6 will go for three in a row today with the launch of Sentinel-1D, which is part of the European Union's Copernicus Earth-observation program.
The Sentinel-1 series of satellites capture detailed radar imagery of Earth, "performing in all weathers, day and night," ESA officials wrote in a Sentinel-1D mission description. "This service is vital for disaster response teams, environmental agencies, maritime authorities, climate scientists — and other users who depend on frequent updates of critical data."
Three Sentinel-1 satellites have launched to date, and two of those remain operational (Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1C). Sentinel-1D will replace Sentinel-1A, which has been eyeing Earth from orbit for 11 years — well beyond its planned operational lifetime, according to ESA.
Source: www.space.com
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