The Sentinel-1C/-1D Development and Deployment Plan

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission is implemented through a constellation of two C-band SAR satellites in nearpolar, dawn-dusk orbit at 693km altitude, to provide data continuity of previous ERS and ENVISAT missions. Following Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B successful launches in 2014 and 2016, Sentinel-1C and -1D models are in development and will provide operational continuity to the mission. This paper addresses the improvements in system robustness and performance, the Automatic Identification System (AIS) instrument to augment the SAR payload data for ship marine traffic applications, and the novel solutions to make Sentinel-1C and Sentinel-1D design fully compliant with the latest Space Debris code-of-conduct and the required casualty risks at re-entry.