Helios II, A New Generation Of Military Satellites

SPY SATS

Artist's view of HELIOS IIA satellite. Credits : CNES/Ill. Activ Design

Toulouse, France (SPX) Oct 18, 2004
CNES is gearing up for a special launch in December. Ariane 5 will be lofting 6 satellites into orbit at once - a first for Europe's launcher. Among the passengers will be the Helios IIA satellite, designed to give the Helios military surveillance system enhanced resolution and data access capability.

Helios IIA satellite is scheduled to join its 2 predecessors, Helios IA and IB, in orbit. Helios II, which also comprises 2 satellites, is a second-generation military surveillance programme developed by France in partnership with Spain and Belgium.

Helios II will operate in the visible and infrared portions of the spectrum to deliver imagery to the French military day and night.

France has also an agreement to exchange some of Helios II's optical data for future radar data now under development in Germany and Italy, thus affording it an all-weather imaging capability.

Enhancements provided by Helios II include significantly improved resolution, more imaging capacity and faster access to imagery. The new system, which will also support targeting, guidance, mission planning and battle damage assessment, has been designed to accommodate future upgrades, including new users and new sensors.

Helios IIA will be launched along with the Essaim demonstrator comprising 4 microsatellites developed by the French defense procurement agency (DGA).

The aim of this demonstrator is to lay the groundwork for a future space-based electronic intelligence (ELINT) programme. Finally, the last passenger on board Ariane flight 165 will be CNES's Parasol microsatellite, dedicated to observing clouds and aerosols.

SPACEWAR

Japan Plans To Develop Advanced Spy Satellite

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Sep 27, 2004
The Japanese government plans to develop an advanced spy satellite for launch in 2010. Government sources say the satellite will be able to distinguish objects on Earth as small as 50 centimeters.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.