RIP

Look: 9 stunning images reveal a retired satellite's dynamic views of Earth

R.I.P Copernicus Sentinel-1B.

by Jennifer Walter
Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data [2016], processed by ESA

ESA/ATG medialab

For almost five years, the Copernicus Sentinel 1-B satellite monitored and photographed our planet from above.

But 8 months ago, the satellite stopped working properly.

Shutterstock

After trying and failing to fix this set of eyes in the sky, the European Space Agency announced that the satellite has been shut down.

Sentinel-1B stopped transmitting data back to Earth in 2021.

Meanwhile, its identical counterpart, Sentinel-1A, still collects data for maps and images of the planet.

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018), processed by ESA,

Sentinel-1B will soon be replaced by a new satellite, Sentinel-1C.

ESA

ESA/ATG medialab

Before Sentinel-1B stopped transmitting, it spent years mapping the globe using radar alongside Sentinel-1A.

ESA via Giphy

The pair captured views of the Earth quite distinct from satellites that see in the visual spectrum.

Radar vision let the satellites peer through clouds to observe changing croplands, oil spills, drifting icebergs, and more.

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019), processed by ESA

Here are 9 stunning images captured during Sentinel-1B’s prime years:

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data [2016], processed by ESA

9. The Barents Sea and a bit of the Svalbard archipelago were among first targets imaged by Sentinel-1B after its launch in 2016.

8. In 2018, Sentinel 1-B studied Northeast Ethiopia to produce this false-color image. Yellow represents higher elevations, while blue present are lower lands.

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018), processed by ESA,

7. The mighty Amazon River, captured by the Sentinel-1 satellites in 2019.

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019), processed by ESA

6. When the Ever Given cargo ship got stuck in the Suez Canal in March 2021, the Sentinel-1 satellites spotted the traffic jam from space.

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2021), processed by ESA

5. Oil spills are sometimes large enough to see from space. Here’s one spreading in the Mediterranean Sea in 2018 over 37 miles long.

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018), processed by ESA

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019-20), processed by ESA

4. The satellites began imaging the Mackenzie River in Canada in 2019, and completed this image in 2020.

3. A huge iceberg broke off Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf in 2021. The satellites captured it drifting over nine days in August.

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2021), processed by ESA

contains modified Copernicus data (2017), processed by DARES Technology. Coherence images and animation were obtained at University of Alicante

2. The satellites also watched croplands worldwide to spot changes over time.

In this timelapse, they show a year’s worth of changes in Seville, Spain through 2017.

1. Currents in the Bering Strait, captured in 2019, show less ice during winter than the region typically expects.

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