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Paris - Nov 27, 2003 EADS-Astrium has been awarded a contract worth Euro 314 million to build two Pleiades satellites. Alcatel Space will supply the high-resolution instruments. The Pleiades 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. Orfeo is a dual-use civil/military system. The first satellite will be launched mid-2008 and the second in 2009. The two satellites will form a constellation in Sun-synchronous orbit. EADS-Astrium has been made programme prime contractor and will manufacture the spacecraft buses; Alcatel Space is responsible for the high-resolution instruments and image telemetry. These new satellites will ensure continuity of the service provided by the SPOT series, with the capability to acquire the same wide-swath panchromatic and multispectral imagery. The satellites will also bring a number of significant technological advances: - they are much more compact than their predecessors; - ground resolution will be 70 centimetres across a 20-kilometre swath; - a very high degree of agility will allow them to acquire several images successively along track or off track, for mosaicking of ground scenes; - onboard storage capacity has been increased to 600 gigabits and the downlink data rate to 450 megabits per second. The 1,000-kilogram satellites will have a design lifetime of five years and onboard power capacity of 1,000 watts. CNES President Yannick d'Escatha said: "I am delighted that the Pleaides programme is now underway. Its many innovations illustrate CNES's creative energies and manufacturers' technological capabilities. I would like to congratulate everyone involved for working so hard together to strengthen French and European expertise in Earth observation." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Astrium Space SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Earth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application
New Legislation Initiated To Support Commercial Remote Sensing Industry
New York NY (SPX) Jan 11, 2006The importance of remotely sensed data and technologies to support natural disasters has prompted attention and action in Washington. New initiatives and legislation authorizing appropriations to the remote sensing industry will be discussed at Strategic Research Institute's U.S. Commercial Remote Sensing Industry conference, scheduled for February 9-10, 2006 in Washington D.C. |
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