Arianespace’s successful Soyuz Flight VS07 – which deployed Sentinel-1A to Sun-synchronous orbit – gave the world a front-row seat in space.

Cameras mounted on the Soyuz’ Fregat upper stage captured the spectacular footage yesterday as Sentinel-1A was separated at approximately 700 km above the Earth to commence its life in orbit.

In the Arianespace/European Space Agency/Roscosmos-copyrighted video, the 2.3-tonne spacecraft is released and moves away from Fregat against the background of the Earth to complete Arianespace’s 23-minute mission (the video data, by the way, were downloaded via ESA’s 15m tracking station in Perth, Australia). The Sentinel-1A Earth observation satellite is the first spacecraft to be deployed for Copernicus – a program of the European Union in partnership with the European Space Agency.

With Flight VS07, Soyuz – Arianespace’s Russian-built medium-lift workhorse launcher – has successfully performed seven missions from the Spaceport in French Guiana.

Via Arianespace