Sentinel-1A/-1B Mission and Performance Status, Sentinel-1C/-1D Improvements

Abstract:
The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission ensures continuity of C-band SAR observations for Europe. The routine operations of the constellation are on-going and performed at full mission capacity. The mission is characterized by large-scale and repetitive observations, systematic production and free and open data policy. Sentinel-1 data are routinely used by Copernicus and many operational services, as well as in the scientific and commercial domain. The paper addresses the mission status, the Sentinel-1 observation scenario, the impact on the COVID-19 crisis, and an overview on the recent mission performance aspects. It also presents the mission perspective for the years to come, in particular preliminary information on the new concept of a Sentinel-1 satellite in stand-by in orbit. In a second part, the paper addresses the improvements in system robustness and performance for the Sentinel-1C/-1D units. In addition, it discusses the main characteristics of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) instrument to augment the SAR payload data for ship marine traffic applications.