2 European Earth-observing satellites launching to orbit from South America tonight: Watch it live
A Vega C rocket will launch Europe's FLEX and Copernicus-3C spacecraft to orbit from French Guiana tonight (Sept. 14), and you can watch the action live.
Two European Earth-observing satellites, FLEX and Copernicus-3C, are set to launch from French Guiana tonight, Sept. 14, 2026, via a Vega C rocket. The launch will be broadcast live on Space.com by the European Space Agency, starting at 8:50 p.m. EDT (0050 GMT). FLEX, weighing 875 pounds (397 kilograms), will monitor plant photosynthetic activity, providing crucial data for understanding the global carbon cycle, agricultural management, and food security.
Copernicus-3C, weighing 2,520 pounds (1,114 kilograms), is part of the European Union's Copernicus Earth-observation program and will continue the successful Sentinel-3 line, measuring Earth's oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere for monitoring global dynamics and providing near-real-time information for weather forecasting. Both satellites are scheduled to be deployed at an altitude of approximately 509 miles (820 kilometers) and will be operational within 116 minutes after launch if all goes according to plan.
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