2 European Earth-observing satellites launching to orbit from South America tonight: Watch it live

Two European Earth-observing spacecraft will lift off from South America tonight (Sept.

14), and you can watch the action live.

A Vega C rocket carrying the FLEX and Copernicus-3C satellites is scheduled to launch from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 9:21 p.m.

EDT (10:21 p.m. local time in Kourou and 0121 GMT on Sept.

15).

You can watch it live here at Space.com courtesy of the European Space Agency , or directly via ESA .

Coverage will begin at 8:50 p.m.

EDT (0050 GMT).

A Vega C rocket is scheduled to launch ESA's FLEX satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C spacecraft from French Guiana on Sept.

14, 2026. (Image credit: ESA-M.

Pédoussaut) The 875-pound (397-kilogram) FLEX will detect and monitor vegetation fluorescence, which explains its name (a shortening of "Fluorescence Explorer").

By doing so, it will map plant photosynthetic activity — something no satellite can do at the moment, according to ESA.

FLEX's data will be important not only "for a better understanding of the global carbon cycle, but also for agricultural management and food security," ESA wrote in a FLEX mission desription .

"This is of particular relevance due to demand the growing world population is placing on the production of food." Sentinel-3C is part of the European Union's Copernicus Earth-observation program.