Arianespace is preparing to launch the Pleiades 1 Earth observation satellite along with five co-passengers on a second Soyuz flight from French Guiana on 16 December 2011.

Pleiades 1 was built by the Astrium business unit of EADS and will provide military and civilian users with processed 50-cm resolution imagery at ground coverage swath widths of 20km.

The satellite is based on a smaller, less expensive and more agile design than the earlier Spot and Helios satellites.

The Pleiades 1 satellite will be launched along with four French ELISA electronic intelligence (ELINT) demonstrators and the Sistema Satelital para la Observación de la Tierra Earth (SSOT) observation platform for Chile.