38012 - PLEIADES 1A

PLEIADES 1, a French Earth observation satellite was launched from Kourou on 2011 December 17 at 02:03 UT. The craft weighed 970 kg and was launched by a Soyuz rocket. PLEIADES 1 is a multi-role observation craft. It will collect high-resolution (features as small as 0.5 m) optical imagery for military and civilian users. When operational, it collected up to 450 images each day, including tri-stereo imagery and mosaics. PLEIADES 1 was in its final orbit about 10 days after launch. It was designed for a five-year mission.
The initial orbital parameters were period = 98.73 minutes, apogee = 698.7 km, perigee = 697.1 km, inclination = 98.2 degrees on 2012 Feb 20 at 17:21:26 UTC.

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2011-12-17
Launch Vehicle: Soyuz
Launch Site: Kourou, French Guiana
Mass: 970.0 kg