Functional testing is ongoing at Europe’s spaceport for the upcoming launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-1C satellite.

The Automated Identification System (AIS) antennas were fully installed on the spacecraft.

AIS close-up (Credits: ESA)

These box-shaped structures, located at each corner of the SAR Central Panel, were temporarily removed for transport to protect the antennas from potential damage.

AIS antennas fully installed (Credits: ESA)

These antennas are components of the AIS Instrument, which identifies ships appearing as white dots in SAR images. Now, they have been fully remounted and tested, allowing functional testing to proceed at spacecraft level.

From the Sentinel-1C launch campaign team in Kourou.

Learn more about Copernicus Sentinel-1.