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 December 18, 2004, by an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. [3]
Helios 2B was launched five years later on December 18, 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 December 19, 2018, the second (CSO-2) on December 29, 2020, with the final launch (CSO-3) being scheduled for 2022. [8]
The Guiana Space Centre, also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately 310 mi (500 km) north of the equator, at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is suitable as a location for a spaceport, because of its equatorial location and open sea to the east.
The National Centre for Space Studies is the French government space agency. Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is under the supervision of the French Ministries of Defence and Research.
Vega is an expendable launch system in use by Arianespace 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 Centre Spatial Guyanais on 13 February 2012.
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.
The Meteosat series of satellites are geostationary meteorological satellites operated by EUMETSAT under the Meteosat Transition Programme (MTP) and the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) program.
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.
PROTEUS is a 3-axis stabilized platform designed for mini-satellites weighing approximately 500 kg operating in low Earth orbit. The platform is used by six scientific satellites developed as part of the space program of the National Center for Space Studies (CNES) for the European Space Agency: Jason-1, 2 and 3, CALIPSO, CoRoT, and SMOS. The platform is developed by the satellite division of Aérospatiale.
The Cannes Mandelieu Space Center is an industrial plant dedicated to spacecraft manufacturing, located in both the towns of Cannes and Mandelieu in France. After a long history in aircraft manufacturing, starting in 1929, the center became increasingly involved in aerospace activities after the Second World War, and satellites are now the plant's main product.
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.
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 currently under development since the early 2010s by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is intended to replace the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. The stated motivation for Ariane 6 was to halve the cost compared to Ariane 5, and increase the capacity for the number of launches per year.
Sodern is a French company based in Limeil-Brévannes, near Paris in Ile-de-France, specialized in space instrumentation, optics and neutron analyzers.
Syracuse is a series of French military communications satellites.
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.
SES-17, is a high throughput all electric geostationary communications satellite owned and operated by SES S.A., and designed and manufactured by Thales Alenia Space. Launched on 24 October 2021 from Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG), in Kourou, French Guiana by an Ariane 5ECA launch vehicle, SES-17 was positioned at 67.1° west in May 2022 and, after testing, became fully operational in June 2022.
ELA-4, is a launch pad and associated facilities at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana located along the Route de l'Espace in the Roche Christine site, between ELA-3 and ELS launch facilities. The complex is composed of a launch pad with mobile gantry, an horizontal assembly building and a dedicated launch operations building. ELA-4 is operated by Arianespace as part of the Ariane 6 program. As of November 2022 the first launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023.
Eutelsat Konnect is a geostationary communications satellite operated by Eutelsat. The satellite was designed and manufactured by Thales Alenia Space on the Spacebus NEO 100 platform, and was launched on 16 January 2020 on an Ariane 5 ECA. The satellite provides broadband internet and communications coverage to Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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