Onboard camera view: launch and separation of Sentinel-1A

Cameras mounted on the Soyuz Fregat upper stage that sent Sentinel-1A into space on 3 April 2014 captured this superb footage. It shows liftoff, the various stages in the rocket's ascent and the Sentinel-1A satellite being released from the Fregat upper stage to start its life in orbit around Earth.

The 2.3 tonne satellite lifted off on a Soyuz rocket from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 21:02 GMT (23:02 CEST). The first stage separated 118 sec later, followed by the fairing (209 sec), stage 2 (287 sec) and the upper assembly (526 sec). After a 617 sec burn, the Fregat upper stage delivered Sentinel into a Sun-synchronous orbit at 693 km altitude. The satellite separated from the upper stage 23 min 24 sec after liftoff.

Sentinel-1 is the first in the family of satellites for Europe's Copernicus programme. It carries an advanced radar to scan Earth's surface in all weather conditions and regardless of whether it is day or night. This new mission will be used to care for many aspects of our environment, from detecting and tracking oil spills and mapping sea ice to monitoring movement in land surfaces and mapping changes in the way land is used.

[DevSolar]

1:58 to 2:08 -- the expansion of the exhaust due to the ever-lower atmospheric pressure. Beautiful.

[rohanclassic]

This has to be the most beautiful booster separation.

[gulftream]

That separation is so damn symmetric. Beautiful.

[ShiroArctic]

I have to say, the boosters separating on this rocket is a thing of beauty.

[xphobus]

The Korolev's cross will always remind a great scientist and a hero.

[AbdulHadi-yzeg]

The first time I watched Korolev cross was an animated one. It was beautiful but I also thought that, “nah, it’s only in animation.” Then I watched the real thing & was speechless by how even more beautiful it is in real life.

[EuropeanSpaceAgency]

Views of the launch and separation of Sentinel-1A launch on 3 April - as seen from the Soyuz Fregat upper stage onboard camera. Look out for the spectacular booster separation!

#Sentinel1 #Copernicus #Soyuz  

[OfMiceAndMegabytes]

Exactly what I was looking for a launch-to-space video. I'm sure there's a hundred others and it might sound silly but this is good to see from both perspectives.

[dsofe]

Gotta love that booster separation. The soviets really knew how to pull off a show.

[killman]

beautiful view of the lateral booster seperation and korolev's cross

[hichdima]

Wow, this is spectacular! This is what we should focus on, instead of wars.

[Scy]

Notice how the boosters are white on the upper half during launch, but eventually become black before separation. This is because the upper half contains liquid oxygen (ca -200* C or -300* F) and condensation freezes on the outside. The core also has liquid oxygen, at least in the first and second stages, which shows when it sheds most of the ice during accelleration just seconds after launch. Those tanks are white though, so it's not so obvious.

You can see the ice melt on the boosters just after going supersonic, when it is high enough that there isn't enough air humidity to freeze anymore.

I rarely see explanations like this on launch videos, so I thought I'd just pop it in here.

[awuma]

Wonderful video. The Semyorka is the DC-3 of ELVs ... still going strong after nearly 60 years. Let's see if Falcon 9 can do the same for re-usable launch vehicles.

[tysonsmith]

Respect man!!!
Respect!!!
Excellent work!!!

Love from India!!!

[giampyloscenziatomatto]

The most beautiful launch i've ever seen!! Well done!

[dano]

You have to admire the development of the explosive bolt. It's the little things, ya know?

[spiderboi]

the side booster seperation is the most beautiful thing about it...

[MrJeroenreyns]

i find this oddly satisfying to watch the separation of the boosters, especially when they are perfect synced xd

[janselkennethtolentino]

The booster separation looked like skydivers. Very nice.

[Edsel]

The "Korolev cross" looks even more impressive when seen from the upper stage of the rocket. Also, I like the Russian approach to building space rockets. Find a design that works and then stick with it. Here in the US we keep reinventing the wheel, so to speak.