Airbus says pair of imaging satellites are on track for launch mid-2020

TOULOUSE, France - The first two Airbus-built Pléiades Neo imaging satellites have started comprehensive environmental testing, to ensure they are ready for in-orbit operation.

During the tests, the satellites are subjected to extreme temperatures and vacuum, vibration and acoustic noise, as well as electromagnetic interference. This will ensure they can withstand the harsh conditions they will experience during launch and their mission in orbit.

These first two new generation very high-resolution satellites are on schedule for launch as planned in mid-2020. They will join the Airbus constellation of optical and radar satellites, improving both the revisit and resolution capacities.

Entirely funded, manufactured, owned and operated by Airbus, Pléiades Neo will provide institutional and commercial customers with high-level insights for the next 12 years. Each satellite will be adding half a million km² per day at 30cm resolution to Airbus’ offering. The images will be streamed into the OneAtlas on-line platform, thanks to an innovative cloud-based ground segment architecture, allowing customers to have immediate access to freshly acquired and archived data as well as analytics.