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Sentinel-3: Mission Support

Jump to: Mission Support Status, Current Tracking Statistics, Mission Support Request

ILRS Mission Support Status:

The objective of the Laser Retro-Reflector (LRR) is to permit ground-based laser ranging of the Sentinel-3 satellites. These measurements will be used for calibration of the on-board navigation system and of the Radar Altimeter measurements as well as for the S-3 POD processing.

Current ILRS Tracking Statistics: (as of 29-Mar-2024 00:00:13 UTC)

SatelliteSite NameStationStart DateEnd DateNo. PassesNo. Points
SENTINEL-3AArequipa74032016-05-09 14:25:342024-03-26 14:06:271,23911,839
SENTINEL-3ABadary18902016-04-16 13:37:232022-03-03 14:19:211,0139,553
SENTINEL-3ABeijing72492016-05-05 13:43:192021-09-20 15:03:384863,678
SENTINEL-3ABorowiec78112016-04-29 19:44:452024-03-25 20:35:534647,577
SENTINEL-3AChangchun72372016-04-26 12:34:482021-05-12 13:25:501,0258,352
SENTINEL-3AGraz78392016-05-20 20:34:002024-03-25 09:08:301,94836,521
SENTINEL-3AGreenbelt71052016-04-25 01:14:302024-03-26 03:16:122,25140,736
SENTINEL-3AHaleakala71192016-04-11 21:21:392024-03-23 20:16:481,05116,257
SENTINEL-3AHartebeesthoek75012016-07-18 07:28:132024-03-19 21:11:3983012,353
SENTINEL-3AHerstmonceux78402016-03-31 20:37:232024-03-24 21:02:522,31633,005
SENTINEL-3AKatzively18932016-05-07 19:34:262023-09-19 18:31:4490710,171
SENTINEL-3AKiev18242016-04-02 19:44:522024-03-26 18:31:163953,602
SENTINEL-3AMatera79412016-04-15 09:23:192024-03-23 10:09:291,77715,324
SENTINEL-3AMcDonald70802016-05-01 03:38:122018-09-12 03:39:2118120
SENTINEL-3AMonument Peak71102016-04-22 18:09:372024-03-26 18:54:581,85431,470
SENTINEL-3AMount Stromlo78252016-04-06 00:08:342024-01-10 12:30:571,84524,651
SENTINEL-3APotsdam78412016-04-16 20:20:032024-03-26 20:10:461,90028,766
SENTINEL-3ARiga18842016-04-05 18:28:382024-03-11 19:59:243936,502
SENTINEL-3ASan Fernando78242016-04-11 22:32:292023-10-25 21:15:595304,032
SENTINEL-3AShanghai78212016-04-28 13:25:002020-04-23 03:01:3150321
SENTINEL-3ASimeiz18732020-03-11 17:58:592023-09-23 18:28:585706,181
SENTINEL-3ASimosato78382016-06-23 12:28:562018-09-28 11:47:431642,238
SENTINEL-3ASvetloe18882016-04-16 20:23:412022-03-01 18:33:582031,677
SENTINEL-3ATahiti71242018-01-26 20:08:372024-03-22 19:17:443474,854
SENTINEL-3ATsukuba73062023-01-20 12:54:492023-01-20 12:54:49122
SENTINEL-3AWettzell88342016-05-07 21:18:402019-06-18 19:58:346305,965
SENTINEL-3AYarragadee70902016-04-09 14:39:382024-03-27 01:56:396,449111,427
SENTINEL-3AZelenchukskaya18892016-04-17 18:16:262018-11-01 07:32:141281,250
SENTINEL-3AZimmerwald78102017-06-14 10:43:402022-02-13 22:05:091,23319,816
SENTINEL-3BArequipa74032018-05-10 14:14:052024-03-25 13:56:159368,663
SENTINEL-3BBadary18902018-06-02 14:36:562022-03-03 13:39:207156,007
SENTINEL-3BBeijing72492018-05-09 13:52:572021-09-20 12:45:255143,707
SENTINEL-3BBorowiec78112018-05-17 20:56:522024-03-25 19:56:413315,063
SENTINEL-3BGraz78392018-05-06 20:02:302024-03-25 21:33:541,44825,226
SENTINEL-3BGreenbelt71052018-05-10 01:38:202024-03-25 03:03:481,62229,027
SENTINEL-3BHaleakala71192018-05-09 21:07:502024-03-23 21:19:2673811,718
SENTINEL-3BHartebeesthoek75012018-05-10 19:52:592024-03-13 19:48:116279,342
SENTINEL-3BHerstmonceux78402018-06-08 10:37:552024-03-24 22:04:301,69523,242
SENTINEL-3BKatzively18932018-05-11 18:10:222024-03-19 19:15:006887,913
SENTINEL-3BKiev18242018-05-09 18:57:542024-03-26 19:33:223483,508
SENTINEL-3BMatera79412018-05-15 19:59:012024-03-23 09:25:521,35010,743
SENTINEL-3BMonument Peak71102018-05-10 17:20:072024-03-26 18:15:391,35021,369
SENTINEL-3BMount Stromlo78252018-05-12 23:36:562024-01-18 23:05:371,33515,593
SENTINEL-3BPotsdam78412018-05-03 19:38:302024-03-26 21:12:511,26717,731
SENTINEL-3BRiga18842018-05-08 19:19:432024-03-11 21:04:042133,346
SENTINEL-3BSan Fernando78242020-01-15 21:26:052023-10-10 22:03:243322,098
SENTINEL-3BShanghai78212018-05-14 13:38:042020-04-26 13:56:0677878
SENTINEL-3BSimeiz18732018-05-11 18:09:222024-03-19 19:15:147609,730
SENTINEL-3BSvetloe18882018-05-29 08:10:582022-03-01 19:35:551511,221
SENTINEL-3BTahiti71242020-03-05 07:46:172024-03-26 09:07:143424,808
SENTINEL-3BWettzell88342018-05-08 21:01:222019-12-19 21:29:511971,849
SENTINEL-3BYarragadee70902018-05-04 01:30:082024-03-27 02:59:594,74875,875
SENTINEL-3BZelenchukskaya18892018-06-02 19:33:222018-10-12 07:51:161496
SENTINEL-3BZimmerwald78102018-06-01 21:39:222022-02-13 21:23:271,04316,516
Sentinel-3A ILRS SLR MISSION SUPPORT REQUEST FORM (November 2015, PDF)
Sentinel-3B ILRS SLR MISSION SUPPORT REQUEST FORM (January 2018, PDF)

GENERAL INFORMATION

Satellite Name: Sentinel-3A
Satellite Host Organization: ESA/EUMETSAT
Primary Technical Contact: Pierre Féménias (Copernicus POD Service Technical Officer)
Address: ESA ESRIN, Via Galileo Galilei, CP64 I-00044 Frascati, Italy
Phone No.: +39 06 941 80674
FAX No.: +39 06 941 80612
E-mail Address: Pierre.Femenias@esa.int
Web Address:
Alternate Technical Contact: Rene Zandbergen
Address: ESA ESOC, Robert-Bosch Strasse 5, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
Phone No.: +49 6151 90 2236
FAX No.: +49 6151 90 3412
E-mail Address: Rene.Zandbergen@esa.int
Web Address:
Primary Science Contact: Craig Donlon (Sentinel-3 Mission Scientist)
Address: ESA ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk The Netherlands
Phone No.: +31 (0)715 653687
FAX No.: +31 (0)715 655675
E-mail Address: Craig.Donlon@esa.int
Web Address:
Alternate Science Contact: C. Mavrocordatos (Sentinel-3 Payload Manager)
Address: ESA ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk The Netherlands
Phone No.: +31 (0)715 655536
FAX No.: +31 (0)715 655675
E-mail Address: Constantin.Mavrocordatos@esa.int
Web Address:

MISSION SPECIFICS:

Scientific or Engineering Objectives of Mission: The main objective of the Sentinel-3 mission is to measure sea surface topography; sea and land surface temperatures; and ocean and land surface color with high accuracy and reliability to support ocean forecasting systems, environmental, and climate monitoring. The mission's primary instruments are optical instruments (OLCI, SLSTR) and the Altimeter system composed of a SAR radar altimeter, a microwave radiometer and a Precise Orbit Determination (POD) package composed of a GNSS, a DORIS and LRR.
Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) Role of Mission: The objective of the Laser Retro-Reflector (LRR) is to permit ground-based laser ranging of the Sentinel-3 satellites. These measurements will be used for calibration of the on-board navigation system and of the Radar Altimeter measurements as well as for the S-3 POD processing.
Anticipated Launch Date: January 2016
Expected Mission Duration: 7.25 years

ANTICIPATED ORBITAL PARAMETERS:

Altitude: 814.5 Km
Inclination: 98.65 Degrees
Eccentricity: approximately 0
Orbital Period: approximately 100 minutes
Mission Timeline: 5 months of commissioning after launch, then nominal operations

TRACKING REQUIREMENTS:

Tracking Schedule: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with elevation restrictions (see below)
Spatial Coverage: Global
Temporal Coverage: Continuous and as dense as possible
Data Accuracy:

OPERATIONS REQUIREMENTS:

Prediction Center: GMV Aerospace and Defence (Copernicus POD Service prime)
Prediction Technical Contact: Jaime Fernández
Address: Calle Isaac Newton 11, 28760, Tres Cantos, Spain
Phone No.: +34 91 807 22 76
FAX No.: +34 91 807 21 99
E-mail Address: fernandez@gmv.com; sentinelspodops@gmv.com
Priority of SLR for POD: High priority (essential for best POD; critical for orbit accuracy validation)
Other Sources of POD (GPS, PRARE, Doppler, etc.): GPS, DORIS
Primary Analysis Center: GMV Aerospace and Defence (Copernicus POD Service prime)
Normal Point Time Span (sec): 15
Tracking Network Required (Full/NASA/EUROLAS/WPLTN/Mission Specific): Full

TRACKING RESTRICTIONS

Can detector(s) or other equipment on the spacecraft be damaged or confused by excessive irradiation, particularly in any one of these wavelengths (532nm, 1064nm, 846nm, or 423nm)? Yes
Are there times when the LRAs will not be accessible from the ground? No
Is there a need for an altitude tracking restriction? No
Is there a need for a go/no-go tracking restriction? No
Is there a need for a pass segmentation restriction? Yes
For what reason? Applicable only if the laser station is within the field of view of OLCI Instrument and power restriction cannot be met. See attached diagram for the definition of the angular range where power restriction or blanking is necessary.
Is there a need for a laser power restriction? Yes
Under what circumstances? Power restrictions apply when the laser station is within the field of view of the Instrument, as defined in the attached diagram. Full details are also given in S3-TN-TAF-OL-01572 iss.2
What power level (mW/cm2)? 1.7 nJ/cm2 (note 1)
Is manual control of transmit power acceptable? Yes (Note 2)
Other comments on tracking restrictions: Note 1: 1.7nJ/cm2 at the satellite location and for a PRF < 22 Hz. For higher PRF the acceptable energy density becomes 1.7nJ/cm2 * (22Hz / PRF). Note 2: The tolerated energy density contains a margin factor of 10 to cope with uncertainties and is recommended to keep. Certain human errors can also be covered through this margin. Note 3: Tracking segmentation restrictions -when applicable- can be expressed in a simpler (approximate) way as follows: Tracking with energies above the threshold defined herewith shall be prohibited +5deg/-5deg along the trajectory and around the highest elevation point.

RETROREFLECTOR ARRAY INFORMATION:

Related Documentation: