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SPOT is a commercial high-resolution optical Earth imaging satellite system operating from space. It is run by Spot Image, based in Toulouse, France. It was initiated by the CNES in the 1970s and was developed in association with the SSTC and the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB). It has been designed to improve the knowledge and management of the Earth by exploring the Earth's resources, detecting and forecasting phenomena involving climatology and oceanography, and monitoring human activities and natural phenomena. The SPOT system includes a series of satellites and ground control resources for satellite control and programming, image production, and distribution. Earlier satellites were launched using the European Space Agency's Ariane 2, 3, and 4 rockets, while SPOT 6 and SPOT 7 were launched by the Indian PSLV.
Spot Image, a public limited company created in 1982 by the French Space Agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the IGN, and Space Manufacturers is a subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space (99%). The company is the commercial operator for the SPOT Earth observation satellites.
Hélios 1A and Hélios 1B were French military photo-reconnaissance satellites in which Italy and Spain also participated. Hélios 1A was launched from the Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana on 3 December 1999 at 16:22:00 UTC. The spacecraft rode aboard an Ariane 4 rocket which also carried the French military reconnaissance satellite Clementine.
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Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%). The company is headquartered in Cannes, France.
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ELISA is a suite of four French military satellites launched on 17 December 2011 from Arianespace's Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. It consists of microsatellites ELISA 1, ELISA 2, ELISA 3, and ELISA 4
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Vegetation and Environment monitoring on a New Micro-Satellite (VENμS) is a near polar Sun-synchronous orbit microsatellite. It is a joint project of the Israeli Space Agency and CNES. The project was signed upon in April 2005 and was launched on the 2nd of August 2017. The microsatellite, which was set to cost the ISA US$20 million and CNES €10 million, was designed and built by IAI and Rafael under ISA's supervision.
The French Space Command is a formation of the French Air and Space Force, which deals with space issues. It supersedes the Joint Space Command, which was created in 2010.
Capella Space is an American space company with satellite and declassified SAR data solutions for government and commercial use. It offers space-based radar Earth observation satellites equipped with synthetic-aperture radar that can collect imagery through clouds and at night. The company is based in San Francisco, California with offices in Washington, D.C., and Louisville, Colorado. It was founded by Payam Banazadeh, a former engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA, and William Walter Woods.
Noor is a class of Iranian military Earth-imaging CubeSat. Three Noor satellites have been launched from the Shahroud Space Center in Shahrud Desert in Iran into low Earth orbit aboard three-stage Qased space-launch vehicles.
References
- 1 2 (in French) French Finance Law for 2013 : Defence : Equipment
- 1 2 (in French) Opex360.com article
- ↑ SpaceNews article
- 1 2 (in French) Hearing of the French Space Command Chief by the National Assembly
- ↑ "CSO-1 L'ESPACE AU SERVICE DE LA DÉFENSE". CNES. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2020.(in French)
- 1 2 page on CSO on the CNES website
- ↑ (in French) Hearing on the Director of Military Intelligence at the French National Assembly
- ↑ SpaceNews article on Helios II B
- ↑ (in French) French Military Planning Law for 2014-2019
- ↑ Lagneau, Laurent (4 March 2022). "Faute de lanceur Soyouz, la mise sur orbite du satellite militaire français CSO-3 sera retardée d'un an" [In the absence of a Soyuz launcher, the orbital insertion of the French military satellite CSO-3 will be delayed by a year]. Opex360 (in French). Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ↑ (in French) Article on Musis on the French Ministry of Defense website
- ↑ Sofradir wins military satellite IR detector contract
- ↑ "Lancement de la réalisation des satellites CSO du programme Musis". Direction générale de l'armement. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2013.(in French)
- ↑ (in French) Article mentioning Pléiades programming rights
- ↑ (in French) Press release from the DGA
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