In May EUMETSAT’s Darmstadt site in Germany hosted official acceptance of the Sentinel-3 constellation mission planning facility, MPF. Sentinel-3’s MPF, developed under a Eumetsat contract, is based on the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) planning system and has been fully operative since 2006.

The main feature of the MPF is its capacity for simulating the behavior of the S3A and S3B satellites that make up the Sentinel-3 constellation. These two earth-observation satellites have been designed to carry out operations with full autonomy, minimizing ground operations and therefore slashing operation costs. The MPF is capable of storing an image of the operations loaded in the satellite to simulate execution of these operations and check that satellite plans meet operation restrictions and fully optimize satellite use.

The pair of Sentinel-3 satellites, scheduled for launch between 2015 and 2016, will routinely monitor earth and ocean to glean valuable information for the European Union and its member states under the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security program called Copernicus (formerly known as GMES).

GMV is playing a key role in the Copernicus program, participating actively in various projects for both the ground and space segment. During launches it provides support services for the mission planning and control systems.