France: Europe’s Sentinel-2A satellite delivered its first images of Earth. With a swath width of 290 km, the satellite’s first acquisition began in Sweden and made a strip-like observation through central Europe and the Mediterranean, ending in Algeria. “This new satellite will be a game changer in Earth observation for Europe and for the European Copernicus programme,” said Philippe Brunet, Director for Space Policy, Copernicus and Defence at the European Commission. Volker Liebig, Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes, believes that Sentinel-2 will help provide data for the programme’s land monitoring services and will be the base for a wide spectrum of applications reaching from agriculture to forestry, environmental monitoring to urban planning.
Source: ESA
