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operations.esa.int
ESA Operations
@operations.esa.int
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From Earth orbit to deep space: sharing the excitement of real-time mission operations at the European Space Agency. Home for ESA's teams working on Planetary Defence, Space Weather, Clean Space & Space Debris.
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operations.esa.int
That’s it from us on Copernicus Sentinel-1D! If you like launches, don't forget to tune back for the launch of Copernicus Sentinel-6B later this month.

📷ESA - J. Mai
ESA mission control room with multiple computer monitors displaying spacecraft data and status information, overseen by Flight Operations Director Ian Shurmer.
November 4, 2025 at 11:35 PM
operations.esa.int
The teams at ESA mission control will now spend around 10 hours carefully unfolding Copernicus's Sentinel-1D’s 12 m radar and two 10 m solar wings. The satellite’s unique deployment sequence was designed to ensure that these complex structures all deploy in the safest possible way.

📷ESA/Mlabspace
Close-up of Sentinel-1D Satellite over Earth.
November 4, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by ESA Operations
esa.int
The #CopernicusEU Sentinel-1 mission welcomes a new member: Sentinel-1D, launched at 21:02 GMT/22:02 CET from Kourou on Ariane 6 #VA265.

www.esa.int/Applications...

@cnes.fr @euspa.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu @thalesaleniaspace.bsky.social @transport.esa.int
The Sentinel-1 mission – which provides radar vision for the Copernicus Earth observation programme – has a new addition to its family of satellites, with the arrival in orbit of Sentinel-1D, the last of the groundbreaking first generation. The launch took place at 22:02 CET (18:02 local time), on Tuesday, 4 November, on board an Ariane 6 launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
November 4, 2025 at 10:54 PM
operations.esa.int
We hear you, Copernicus Sentinel-1D! KSAT Kongsberg’s Troll Satellite Ground Station in Antarctica, has received the first signals from the satellite. The orbit has been reached and telemetry has begun to arrive at ESA's mission control in Darmstadt!
Several large dome antennas from KSAT Troll Satellite Ground Station in Antarctica. The structures are mounted on metal frameworks and platforms, with a rugged landscape and patches of snow visible in the background.
November 4, 2025 at 10:23 PM
operations.esa.int
We have liftoff!

The Copernicus Sentinel-1D’s first signals are expected to arrive at ESA mission control via a ground antenna at KSAT Troll Satellite Ground Station in Antarctica, in about an hour and a half.
November 4, 2025 at 9:11 PM
operations.esa.int
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D launch GO/NOGO Roll Call is complete! 📣 All station reporting in. Flight Director Ian Shurmer and the rest of the team at @esa.int mission control are green for launch in approximately 35 minutes.

soundcloud.com/esa/sentinel...
Sentinel-1D RollCall
Official SoundCloud channel of ESA - the European Space Agency. Most (not all) audio content here is licensed under CC BY-SA IGO 3.0. Please check individual credits to be certain. Can't find a track?
soundcloud.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:29 PM
operations.esa.int
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite will enhance our planet's radar vision. It will join the fleet of Sentinels operated from ESA’s mission control centre in Darmstadt, which includes Sentinel-1A. 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C & 5P. We also helped get Sentinel-3A, 3B & 6 up & running post-launch.

🎥ESA/Mlabspace
November 4, 2025 at 7:38 PM
operations.esa.int
One of the simulation exercises made them face a solar storm of extreme magnitude. While we wait for the next launch preparation phase, we encourage you to take a look at the consequences of this nightmare scenario: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

📷ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team
November 4, 2025 at 5:48 PM
operations.esa.int
ESOC mission control has never been more ready. Over the last weeks, our teams have been rehearsing the Copernicus Sentinel-1D launch and crucial early-orbit phase in a set of simulation sessions. Read more about it at: www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

📷ESA - J. Mai
A person in an ESA mission control room leans over a desk with computer monitors and keyboards, appearing to interact with the workstation. The background shows other personnel seated at consoles, large display boards with data, and the ESA logo on the wall. The setting is modern, with bright lighting and a high-tech environment.
November 4, 2025 at 5:29 PM
operations.esa.int
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D ‘Network Countdown’ has begun. Launch, communication and control facilities around the world have begun a synchronised sequence of activities to prepare for liftoff at 22:02 CET tonight and the crucial hours that follow. 🚀Watch live at esawebtv.esa.int
📷ESA - J. Mai
ESA’s ESOC facility with multiple large screens displaying data and status information. Several workstations with computers and keyboards are arranged in rows, and personnel in white shirts with ESA logos are monitoring spacecraft operations. The environment is filled with technical equipment, cables, and mission-related materials.
November 4, 2025 at 3:02 PM
operations.esa.int
☄️ Fireball observed over Spain and Portugal!

On 2 November 2025 at 20:41 CET, ESA’s fireball camera in Cáceres, Spain, recorded a bright bolide streaking northwest over Portugal. It was travelling at approximately 81 000 km/h.

Credit: ESA/PDO/AMS82 - AllSky7

www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
November 4, 2025 at 1:49 PM
operations.esa.int
Asteroids and solar storms and space debris, oh my!

Explore the upcoming fleet of ESA Space Safety missions dedicated to safeguarding humans and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit from hazards originating in space:
www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
ESA Space Safety Fleet
ESA Space Safety Fleet
www.esa.int
October 31, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Reposted by ESA Operations
science.esa.int
Join us from 19:00 CET for the live premiere of 'Seas of the Sun: The story of Cluster' 🍿

#ESACluster scientists & engineers, as well as the filmmakers will be waiting for your questions in the live chat.

Watch here👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go_r...

Heads up @esww2025.bsky.social #ESWW2025

🔭 🧪 ☀️
Seas of the Sun: The story of Cluster (Full documentary)
YouTube video by European Space Agency, ESA
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by ESA Operations
technology.esa.int
🛰️ @esa.int’s first stand-alone deep-space CubeSat #Henon takes shape!

⚡A tailor-made propulsion system will take this small but mighty satellite into an orbit around the Sun, where the CubeSat will detect solar storms, improving our current warning time ☀️ www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
ESA's upcoming Henon CubeSat mission Henon's new propulsion system Henon's orbit
October 29, 2025 at 10:10 AM
operations.esa.int
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft is ready to aim its instruments at interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS! 🪐☄️

Here’s what’s happening and why it’s such a rare opportunity 🧵
Artist's impression of ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope
October 24, 2025 at 2:22 PM
operations.esa.int
The second of four @science.esa.int Cluster satellites has reentered the atmosphere. Rumba’s 25-year dance around Earth ended in a targeted reentry over a remote region of the Pacific Ocean at 20:59 CEST on 22 October.
October 24, 2025 at 7:26 AM
operations.esa.int
☀️Flying through the strongest solar storm ever recorded

No communication or navigation, faulty electronics, collision risks. ESA mission control teams faced a scenario unlike any before. Fortunately, this nightmare unfolded not in reality, but as part of the simulation!

www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
October 15, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by ESA Operations
science.esa.int
#ESAJuice reached 30% of its journey to Jupiter! 🙌

What has Juice been up to and what comes next? Read along. 1/8
Screenshot from the Juice bar X account showing a progress bar at 30%.
October 14, 2025 at 7:18 AM
operations.esa.int
Check out the new trailer for @esa.int's proposed Ramses mission! 🍿📽️

Ramses would escort the cruise-ship-sized asteroid Apophis through its safe but exceptionally rare flyby of Earth in 2029: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Ramses: ESA’s mission to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis
www.esa.int
October 13, 2025 at 12:38 PM
operations.esa.int
🛰️ Rehearsing for Sentinel-6B’s early days in space
Mission control at ESOC is getting ready for the launch of Europe’s latest sea-level monitoring satellite. The campaign is designed to test their ability to deal with issues, adapt the timeline, and operate under stress.
www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
October 8, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Reposted by ESA Operations
science.esa.int
First images of comet #3I/ATLAS from Europe's Mars orbiters 😍

Observing the comet from 30 million km away, #ExoMars reveals the halo of gas and dust surrounding the comet's nucleus.

Read more 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
October 7, 2025 at 2:51 PM
operations.esa.int
Happy launch anniversary to ESA's Hera mission! 🎂🥳

One year ago ESA's first planetary defence mission was stranded on Earth, its launcher grounded, as a hurricane closed in on its launch site. What a difference a year makes! www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Hera’s first year in space
www.esa.int
October 7, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by ESA Operations
science.esa.int
🔭 Get your gear ready, we need you for the Juice mission!

To properly reach the Jupiter system in July 2031, #ESAJuice relies on ephemerides - predicted positions of celestial objects at specific times. 

Better ephemerides, better planning, better results. This is where you come in. 1/3
October 3, 2025 at 12:02 PM
operations.esa.int
Asteroid 2025 TF flew over Antarctica at 00:47:26 UTC ± 18 s on 1 October, coming as close as 428 ± 7 km to Earth’s surface.

This is a similar altitude to the orbit of the International Space Station, and one of the closest approaches ever recorded.

www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
ESA spots asteroid that made very close approach to Earth
ESA spots asteroid that made very close approach to Earth
www.esa.int
October 6, 2025 at 8:58 AM
operations.esa.int
📡#Estrack is growing! Today we join you from Australia for the inauguration for the Agency's fourth deep space antenna.
October 4, 2025 at 9:56 AM