French Defence Minister Florence Parly made a new statement. Minister gave an information about France’s new satellite programme.

Developed to replace the previous generation of Helios satellites, the CSO-1 (Composante Spatiale Optique) satellite is the first of three satellites that France plans to launch. Platform was launched from the space center stationed in Guyana. Satellite is placed into 800-km orbit around 18.38 with Paris time on December 19, was equipped with very high-resolution optical observation equipment. System’s lifetime is planned for about 10 years and weighs 3.5 tons. Satellite developed by Airbus was placed in orbit at an altitude of 800 km. CSO-1 is launched with Soyuz rocket and has been developed with the ability to perform tasks regardless of day, night or meteorological conditions.