After a few relaxing hours over the weekend, the team in Kourou  that are preparing Sentinel-2B for liftoff has been hard at work this week as things are being ticked off the ‘to do’ list.

Enjoying some well-deserved rest at the weekend, the team headed off for Sunday lunch at the beach and afterwards took a stroll – albeit not your usual Sunday stroll as it involves the jungle and probably some creepy crawlies to have to watch out for, eek!

Time to get out and about. (ESA)

Work started again in full force on Monday. Since then they have finished checking and applying the multilayer insulation, which is critical for protecting the satellite and keeping it at the right temperature in space.

Standing proud. (ESA–Manuel Pedoussaut, 2017)

Another important task has started – that of preparing the satellite for being fuelled. Since this is a hazardous operation, checks are extremely thorough. The tank has to be pressurised and carefully checked for leaks.

Only absolutely necessary staff are allowed in the cleanroom when anything to do with fuelling is happening.

Under the rainbow: Vega’s second stage transported to launch pad. (CNES)

In parallel, the second stage of the Vega rocket has been transported to the launch pad, there was a lovely rainbow in the sky at the time – which is quite apt for a satellite mission that carries a multispectral imager and provides ‘colour vision’ for Europe’s Copernicus programme.

Vega’s second stage hoisted into launch tower. (CNES)

From the ESA launch campaign team in Kourou.

Read more about the Sentinel-2 mission