The Helios 2 system, which consists of the Helios 2A and Helios 2B, is a French-developed military

Earth observation satellite An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, ...

program. Financed at 90% by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the development also involved minor participation from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. Helios 2A was launched on December 18, 2004, by an

Ariane 5 Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. It has been used to deliver payloads in ...

rocket from

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label= French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas ...

. Helios 2B was launched five years later on December 18, 2009, carried also by an Ariane 5. The two satellites are identical. They carry a

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded ...

-built high-resolution visible and thermal infrared instrument with 35 cm resolution, and an

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

-built medium-resolution instrument. The Helios 2 satellite bus is nearly identical to the platform built by EADS Astrium for the Spot 5 civil-commercial optical observation satellite. The Helios 2 will be replaced by the

Composante Spatiale Optique Composante Spatiale Optique (CSO; English: Optical Space Component) 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 ...

(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.

References

https://helios.cnes.fr/en/helios-0

External links

Reconnaissance satellites of France Satellites of Spain Satellites of Italy Spacecraft launched in 2004 Spacecraft launched in 2009 Spacecraft launched by Ariane rockets Military equipment introduced in the 2000s {{France-spacecraft-stub

See also

References

External links