Pléiades-HR 1B

Spacecraft nº:

France spacecraft nº: 69

Launch data: Designation  39019 / 12068A Launch date  02 Dec 2012 - 02:02 UT Launch site  Ko, ELS Launch vehicle  Soyuz ST-A/Fregat Mission  Gov.: Earth Observing, Imaging Sun-Synchronous Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  678 x 691 km Eccentricity  9,21E-04 Inclination  98.5 deg Period  98.45 min

Spacecraft data: Prime manufacturer  Astrium (prime), Alcatel Platform  AstroSat-1000 Operator  Ministry of Defense/CNES Mass at launch  970 kg Dry Mass   kg Basic shape   Dimension (m)   Equipment   Solar array  3 deployable solar arrays Stabilization   Propulsion  4 × 15 Nms hydrazine thrusters DC power   Design lifetime  5 yrs - still active

Description:

• The Pléiades-HR satellites are the high-resolution optical imaging component of the French-Italian Orfeo system, for which Italy is supplying the COSMO-Skymed radar component.
• PLEIADES 1B rivals the imaging power of privately-owned spacecraft operated by GeoEye and DigitalGlobe, two firms providing commercial reconnaissance imagery to the U.S. government. Led by CNES, the French space agency, the Pleiades satellites will collect high-resolution optical imagery for military and civilian users. With additional ground processing, the satellites' cameras have a resolution of 50 centimeters, or less than 20 inches. Up to 50 images per day from the Pleiades system will be dedicated to French defense and intelligence services, and the rest will be available to commercial users.
• A very high degree of agility will allow them to acquire several images successively along track or off track, for mosaicking of ground scenes. The onboard storage capacity has been increased to 600 gigabits and the downlink data rate to 450 megabits per second.
• Together with Pleiades 1A, which launched in December 2011, the new satellite will enable global coverage every 24 hours. The satellites will also be coorbital with the SPOT 6 and 7 satellites.

Mission details:

• France's Pleiades 1B high resolution imaging satellite was launched from Kourou-Sinnamary on Dec 2, 2012 on a Starsem Soyuz-2-1A/Fregat. Operated by CNES, the French Defense Ministry is a `preferred customer'. The Fregat stage manuevered from -1165 x 236 km to 198 x 704 km to 673 x 681 km x 98.2 deg, and then after releasing the payload to -5 x 674 km for reentry over the Indian Ocean.

External links:

• Satellite tracking:
  Real time satellite tracking