Live from ESA, follow the event to celebrate the launch of the third satellite for Europe’s Copernicus environment monitoring programme.

The first in the two-satellite mission, Sentinel-3A, is set for launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia on 16 February at 17:57 GMT (18:57 CET).

During the event at ESA’s ESOC European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, a number of the key players in the mission will talk about preparing the satellite for launch and discuss its benefits and applications.

The live webstream will begin at 17:00 GMT (18:00 CET) and end at 19:40 GMT (20:40 CET), with a break 18:25–19:10 GMT (19:25-20:10 CET).

Programme (all times in GMT)

17:00 Introduction and welcome addresses by representatives from ESA, the European Commission and the German government

17:20 Status check and introduction to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome

17:30 Introduction to the Copernicus programme and the Sentinel-3 mission

17:50 Live broadcast from Plesetsk

17:57 Liftoff

18:05 Discussion with a panel of Sentinel-3 data users

18:20 Flight update

18:25 Break

19:10 Live broadcast from Plesetsk: status check

19:20 Presentation on the Copernicus programme and ESA heritage

19:30 Watch the first acquisition of signal live from the Mission Control Room

19:40 End of live coverage from ESOC