First two Pléiades Neo imaging satellites arrive at Kourou for launch

Airbus has announced that the first two Pléiades Neo imaging satellites arrived at the European Space Centre in Kourou for launch.

The two satellites are scheduled for launch next month onboard Vega launcher.

The Pléiades Neo project is completely funded, manufactured, owned and operated by Airbus with the aims of providing commercial and institutional customers with high-level insights in the coming decade.

It will comprise of four identical satellites, which will work in collaboration with the existing Pléiades satellites.

These lightweight spacecraft are equipped with a next-generation silicon carbide optical instrument, as well as feature inter-satellite links with SpaceDataHighway (EDRS) geostationary satellites.

Images provided by these satellites will be easily accessible on Airbus’ OneAtlas digital platform.

Pléiades Neo 3 is the first of the new generation high-resolution satellites that deliver enhanced resolution, revisit and coverage.

They will complement the company’s existing fleet of optical and radar satellites,

Airbus space system head Jean-Marc Nasr said: “Pléiades Neo is a game-changer for Airbus and its geo-intelligence customers.

“Thanks to our disruptive and bold investments we can offer a state-of-the-art constellation delivering 30cm resolution imagery in near real-time, opening up a completely new range of applications to give our customers more detail, more quickly.”

A few weeks later, Pléiades Neo 3’s launch will be followed by its twin, dubbed as Pléiades Neo 4, on a Vega rocket.

European satellite operator Eutelsat recently contracted Airbus to develop a new multi-mission geostationary telecommunications satellite.