Pleiades (satellite)

The Pléiades constellation is composed of two very-high-resolution optical Earth-imaging satellites. Pléiades 1A and Pléiades 1B provide the coverage of Earth’s surface with a repeat cycle of 26 days. Designed as a dual civil/military system, Pléiades will meet the space imagery requirements of European defence as well as civil and commercial needs.

History

The Pléiades system was designed under the French-Italian ORFEO program (Optical & Radar Federated Earth Observation) between 2001 and 2003.

The Pléiades programme was launched in October 2003 with CNES (the French space agency) as the overall system prime contractor and EADS Astrium as the prime contractor for the space segment.

Spot Image is the official and exclusive worldwide distributor of Pléiades products and services under a delegated public service agreement.

Launches