ESA launches FLEX and Sentinel-3C in Vega-C dual-launch milestone

ESA successfully launched two Earth observation satellites, FLEX and Sentinel-3C, aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou. Sentinel-3C was released first, then FLEX about an hour later; both will be commissioned in the coming days. FLEX will measure plants’ photosynthetic fluorescence to assess vegetation health and carbon–water cycles, while Sentinel-3C will continue long-term Copernicus data for oceans, land, ice and atmosphere. The mission features a tandem orbit plan, initially pairing FLEX with Sentinel-3A and later swapping in Sentinel-3C to provide integrated observations of vegetation and atmospheric conditions.