EUMETSAT becomes largest operator of Sentinel missions in Copernicus 2.0 agreement with European Commission

Europe’s meteorological satellite agency, EUMETSAT, will become the largest operator of the Copernicus programme’s Sentinel satellite missions under an agreement signed with the European Commission. Copernicus is a component of the European Union Space Programme. It looks at our planet and its environment for the benefit of all European citizens. It offers information services that draw from satellite Earth Observation and in-situ (non-space) data. The €735 million, seven-year, Contribution Agreement on the Implementation of the Copernicus Component of the Space Programme of the European Union extends and strengthens EUMETSAT’s role in ocean and atmosphere-monitoring missions in the Earth observation programme. It entrusts EUMETSAT with the continued operation and exploitation of the existing Copernicus Sentinel-3 and -6 ocean-monitoring missions, the up-coming Sentinel-4 and -5 atmosphere monitoring missions and future missions designed to monitor carbon dioxide and the climate. www.eumetsat.int