A Vega-C rocket lifted off on the night of 14 to 15 September 2026 from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou and placed two European Earth observation satellites in orbit: Sentinel-3C, part of the European Commission’s Copernicus programme, and FLEX, from the European Space Agency. It was the 30th launch of the Vega family since 2012.
Sentinel-3C is the third satellite in the series and provides near-real-time data for ocean and weather forecasting. It measures sea surface height and temperature, ocean colour and sea ice thickness, and on land it monitors vegetation, wildfires and the level of lakes and rivers.
FLEX is ESA’s eighth Earth Explorer mission and is dedicated to photosynthesis. It carries a fluorescence spectrometer built by Italy’s Leonardo, capable of detecting the faint light that plants emit while they photosynthesise.
The data will help assess plant health, agricultural productivity and the role of photosynthesis in the global carbon and water cycles. The French space agency CNES supported the Italian operator Avio in preparing and carrying out the flight.
