Sentinel-3

Sentinel-3 is the Copernicus ocean and land mission, Sentinel-3A launched 16 February 2016 and 3B on 25 April 2018, operated by EUMETSAT and ESA. Each carries the SRAL dual-frequency Ku and C-band SAR radar altimeter for sea surface height, significant wave height, and wind, plus OLCI, a 21-band ocean color imager, and SLSTR for sea surface temperature, all on one platform. The two-satellite constellation gives short revisit for operational marine monitoring. SRAL runs in SAR mode for sharper along-track resolution than classic pulse-limited altimetry, improving coastal and sea-ice retrievals over the older Jason design.