Rockot to Launch Sentinel-3B
A Russian ballistic-missile-turned-space-launcher is set for liftoff from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Wednesday at 17:57 UTC with the Sentinel-3B Earth Observation Satellite joining Europe's Copernicus satellite fleet collecting a comprehensive set of remote sensing parameters to keep close watch over a changing planet. Marking the start of Rockot's retirement year, Wednesday's climb will require the two-stage rocket to operate for five and a half minutes before the Briz-KM takes over for an 80-minute mission lifting the 1,250-Kilogram satellite into a Sun Synchronous Orbit. Marking the seventh satellite launched under Copernicus, Sentinel-3B will join its twin launched in 2016 to begin collecting ocean and land surface temperature and altimetry data for various scientific and operational applications.
| Launch Date: April 25, 2018 | Launch Updates |
| T-0 Time: 17:57:38 UTC | Sentinel-3 Introduction |
| Launch Vehicle: Rockot/Briz-KM | Sentinel-3 Satellite Platform |
| Launch Site: Site 133/3 Plesetskt | Instrument Description |
| Ascent Mission: 80 Minutes | Orbit Design |
| Payload: Sentinel-3B (1,250kg) | Rockot Launch Vehicle |
| Target Orbit: 809 x 811 km; 98.65° | Launch Profile |
