Key milestones
7 March 2017: Launch of Sentinel 2-B.
15 December 2015: Signature of contract for second-generation Sentinel-2 satellite (from 2021).
11 September 2015: CNES rolls out its PEPS Sentinel Product Exploitation Platform providing access to Copernicus data.
29 June 2015: First images sent back from Sentinel 2-A.
23 June 2015: Launch of Sentinel 2-A (by Vega).
December 2012: Programme renamed Copernicus and satellites named Sentinel.
11 May 2012: The European Commission releases an intergovernmental agreement covering GMES actions for 2014-2020.
8 March 2006: The European Commission decides to set up a Bureau for its Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme.
16 November 2000: Resolution of the European Union Council requiring a joint action with ESA to set up a European environmental observation Task Force, following a joint statement in May 1998.