Press Release 007 - Launch of Sentinel-3B

Stuhr, 27th April 2018

On April 25th 2018, the Sentinel-3B satellite, part of the European Copernicus program and designed to perform Earth Observation, took-off from Plesetsk (Russia) on board a Eurockot's Rockot launcher. Sentinel-3B will now, together with its twin Sentinel 3A (launched in 2016), monitor our planet with the help of a sophisticated sensor payload, including a Temperature Radiometer an Ocean and Land Color Instrument, a SAR Altimeter and a Doppler Orbitograph and Radiopositioning sensor, thus doubling the data output to scientists. In order to acquire this data over an extended period of time (beyond typical spacecraft lifetime) two more Sentinel-3 spacecrafts (units “C” and “D”) will be launched in the coming years with O-RTG’s equipments on-board.

 

  

Sentinel-3B sseparating from Breeze Upper stage © ESA

Sentinel-3B separating from Breeze upper stage © ESA

On April 26th at 17:46 UTC, controllers of the European Space Agency at the European Space Operations Center successfully opened by telecommand the 2 Ball Latch Valves (BLV) designed and manufactured by Omnidea-RTG and the consequent priming of the propulsion sub-system with N2H4 propellant. The BLV component, in this configuration, already had flight heritage since the launch of sister satellite, Sentinel 3A. Specifically, the ESA qualified and ITAR free valves being flown in Sentinel-3 satellites are designed for slow actuation, with the BLV's main advantage over classical (pyrotechnically activated) isolation valves being its capability of repeated opening and closing, without performance degradation, throughout the spacecraft lifetime.

As a small space SME, Omnidea-RTG continues to be deeply committed to producing quality equipment for its customers. We congratulate the European Space Agency and Thales Alenia Space on yet another successful launch and thank them for the continued trust in our capabilities.

Now, more than ever, we would like to thank our clients for their continued support and we reaffirm our availability for future business endeavors.