Pléiades-1A and Pléiades-1B

Pléiades satellite
Mission type	Earth observation/Reconnaissance
Operator	CNES
COSPAR ID	1A: 2011-076F 1B: 2012-068A
SATCATno.	1A: 38012 1B: 39019
Website	CNES (Pléiades satellites)
Mission duration	5 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Bus	Astrosat-1000
Manufacturer	EADS Astrium Satellites
Launch mass	970 kg (2,140 lb) (each)
Start of mission
Launch date	1A: 02:03, 17 December 2011 (UTC) (2011-12-17T02:03:00Z) 1B: 02:02, 2 December 2012 (UTC) (2012-12-02T02:02:00Z)
Rocket	Soyuz ST-A /Fregat
Launch site	Centre Spatial Guyanais,ELS
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Sun-synchronous orbit
Altitude	695 km (432 mi)
Inclination	98.2°

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

The Pléiades system was designed under the French-ItalianORFEO Programme (Optical and Radar Federated Earth Observation) between 2001 and 2003.^[2]

The Pléiades programme was launched in October 2003 withCNES (the French space agency) as the overall system prime contractor andEADS 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.

• Pléiades-1A was launched via a RussianSoyuz ST-A launch vehicle of theCentre Spatial Guyanais,Kourou,French Guiana, on 17 December 2011 at 02:03UTC.
• Pléiades-1B was launched via a RussianSoyuz ST-A launch vehicle of theCentre Spatial Guyanais,Kourou,French Guiana, on 2 December 2012 at 02:02 UTC.^[3][4]

The two satellites operate in the same phased orbit and are offset at 180° to offer a daily revisit capability over any point on the globe. The Pléiades also share the same orbital plane as theSPOT 6 and 7, forming a larger constellation with 4 satellites, 90° apart from one another.^[5]

• Orbit: Sun-synchronous, phased, near-circular
• Mean altitude: 695 km

Equipped with technologies likefibre-optic gyroscopes andcontrol moment gyroscopes, Pléiades-HR 1A, and 1B offer roll, pitch, and yaw (slew) agility, enabling the system to maximize the number of acquisitions above a given area.

This agility coupled with particularly dynamic image acquisition programming make the Pléiades system very responsive to specific user requirements. Individual user requests was answered in record time, thanks to multiple programming plans per day and a state-of-the-art image processing chain. Performance at a glance:

• Image acquisition anywhere within an 800-km-wide ground strip with 70 cm of resolution
• Along-track stereo and tri-stereo image acquisition
• Single-pass collection of mosaics (strip-mapping) with a footprint up to a square degree
• Maximum theoretical acquisition capacity of 1,000,000 km² per day and per satellite
• Optimized daily acquisition capacity (taking into account genuine order book, weather constraints, conflicts...) reaching 300,000 km² per day and per satellite

^[6]

When satellite operations begin, four ground receiving stations will be deployed for the direct downlink and archiving of imagery data:

• Two defence centres in France and Spain
• Two civil stations: one inToulouse (France) and a polar station inKiruna (Sweden), which receives most of the data

Regional receiving stations (fixed or mobile) are subsequently installed at the request of users.

The Pléiades tasking plan are refreshed and uploaded three times per day, allowing for last minute requests and the ability to utilize up-to-the-minute weather forecasts.^[7]

• TheKerguelen Island station uploads the morning pass, over Europe,Africa and theMiddle East.
• The Swedish station takes care of midday orbits, overNorth and South Americas.
• The French station transmits the last tasking plan of the day overAsia andOceania.

• Geographic information system (GIS)
• Remote sensing
• Pléiades Neo [fr]

• Astrium Geo
• ASTRIUM
• CNES
• Gunter's Space Page
• eoportal.org

• Reconnaissance satellites of France
• Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-2 rockets
• Spacecraft launched in 2011
• Spacecraft launched in 2012
• Earth imaging satellites
• Twin satellites
• Military equipment introduced in the 2010s
• CNES

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