The rocket carried six low-orbit military-industrial satellites into space, including France’s Pleiades 1 satellite, designed to generate 3D and color images for both military and industrial use. The satellite has been designed to take pictures on the ground as small as 20 inches across.
Pleiades 1 was financed mainly by France’s defense ministry, and built by Europe’s largest space company, Astrium. Its instruments were supplied by Thales Alenia Space, based in Cannes, France. The Pleiades project was allotted $991 million, according to France’s National Center for Space Studies (CNES). Pleiades carries gyroscopes that will allow it to swivel its telescope in quick time, enabling it to acquire a mosaic of images around its target in a single pass overhead.
Pleiades will serve both the military and the civilian sector, with a number of European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Spain and Sweden, funding the project to gain access to pictures the satellite takes.
For more: Russian Rocket Launches Six Satellites From French Guiana - Space News - redOrbit
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