The Helios 2 system, which consists of the Helios 2A and Helios 2B, is a French-developed military Earth observation satellite program. [1] Financed at 90% by France, the development also involved minor participation from Belgium, Spain, Italy and Greece. [2] Helios 2A was launched on 18 December 2004 by an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. [3]
Helios 2B was launched five years later, on 18 December 2009, carried also by an Ariane 5. The two satellites are identical. [4] They carry a Thales-built high-resolution visible and thermal infrared instrument with 35 cm resolution, [5] and an Airbus-built medium-resolution instrument. [6] The Helios 2 satellite bus is nearly identical to the platform built by EADS Astrium for the Spot 5 civil-commercial optical observation satellite. [7]
The Helios 2 will be replaced by the Composante Spatiale Optique (CSO), a new French program of three military observation satellites. The first satellite (CSO-1) was launched on 15 December 2018, the second (CSO-2) on 29 December 2020, with the final launch (CSO-3) being scheduled for 2024. [8] [9] [10]
Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana. It was used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), low Earth orbit (LEO) or further into space. The launch vehicle had a streak of 82 consecutive successful launches between 9 April 2003 and 12 December 2017. Since 2014, Ariane 6, a direct successor system, is in development.
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It is the operator of two different launch vehicles: Vega, a small-lift rocket and Ariane 6, a medium or heavy-lift rocket, depending on configuration.
The Guiana Space Centre, also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately 500 kilometres north of the equator at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its near equatorial location and open sea to the east and north.
CNES is the French national space agency. Headquartered in central Paris, the agency comes under the supervision of the ministries of the Armed Forces, Economy and Finance and Higher Education, Research and Innovation.
Vega is an expendable small-lift launch vehicle operated by Arianespace, produced by Avio, and jointly developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Development began in 1998 and the first launch took place from the Guiana Space Centre on 13 February 2012. It is the 8th most launched small lift launch vehicle in history. The final flight of the rocket is scheduled for September 2024, after which the vehicle will be replaced by the improved Vega C, already in use.
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.
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.
Spacebus is a satellite bus produced at the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center in France by Thales Alenia Space. Spacebuses are typically used for geostationary communications satellites, and seventy-four have been launched since development started in the 1980s. Spacebus was originally produced by Aérospatiale and later passed to Alcatel Alenia Space. In 2006, it was sold to Thales Group as Thales Alenia Space.
SAR-Lupe is Germany's first reconnaissance satellite system and is used for military purposes. SAR is an abbreviation for synthetic-aperture radar, and "Lupe" is German for magnifying glass. The SAR-Lupe program consists of five identical (770 kg) satellites, developed by the German aeronautics company OHB-System, which are controlled by a ground station responsible for controlling the system and analysing the retrieved data. A large data archive of images will be kept in a former Cold War bunker belonging to the Kommando Strategische Aufklärung of the Bundeswehr. The total price of the satellites was over 250 million Euro.
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.
Sentinel-2 is an Earth observation mission from the Copernicus Programme that acquires optical imagery at high spatial resolution over land and coastal waters. The mission's Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B satellites are to be joined in orbit in 2024 by a third, Sentinel-2C.
Megha-Tropiques was a satellite mission to study the water cycle in the tropical atmosphere in the context of climate change. A collaborative effort between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Megha-Tropiques was successfully deployed into orbit by a PSLV rocket in October 2011.
Essaim was a French military reconnaissance microsatellite constellation. Its main purpose was to collect and map signals intelligence around the world. The Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) described it as a "vacuum cleaner for [radio] waves".
The MUltinational Space-based Imaging System for Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Observation (MUSIS) is an international program including France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Greece, and Spain, aimed at allowing the six nations to share imagery from various military satellites through a common, generic user ground segment (UGS) according to agreed rules and quota.
The French space program includes both civil and military spaceflight activities. It is the third oldest national space program in the world, after the Soviet and American space programs, and the largest space program in Europe.
Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system operated by Arianespace and developed and produced by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It replaces Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family.
Syracuse is a series of French military communications satellite constellations.
Composante Spatiale Optique is a French military Earth observation satellite program of third generation. It replaces the Helios 2 satellites. It is sometimes referred to as the MUltinational Space-based Imaging System for Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Observation.
Earth reconnaissance satellites (excluding Russia and the United States) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China  |
| ||||||
France  |
| ||||||
Germany  |
| ||||||
India  |
| ||||||
Israel  |
| ||||||
Italy  |
| ||||||
Japan  |
| ||||||
South Korea  |
| ||||||
Spain  |
| ||||||
Turkey  |
| ||||||
United Kingdom  |
| ||||||
 | This article about one or more spacecraft of France is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
