The first commercial flight of the new European heavy-lift launcher Ariane 6 recently took off from Kourou, French Guiana. The payload of the “VA263” mission was not inopportune – just at a time when the US government under Donald Trump is becoming increasingly selective with reconnaissance and intelligence information, even towards allies, Europe is specifically building up its own capacities.
The main payload of the Ariane 6 mission was the high-resolution French military observation satellite “CSO-3” (Composante Spatiale Optique). The satellite was positioned in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of around 800 kilometers. There, it is practically always daylight – ideal for taking pictures around the clock in daylight.
With the launch of “CSO-3”, all three satellites in the CSO fleet are now available to the French armed forces and their partners as part of the MUSIS program (Multinational Space Imaging System for Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Observation). MUSIS partners include Germany (since 2015), Sweden (2015), Belgium (2017), Italy (2019), Spain (2021), Switzerland (2023), Poland (2024) and Greece (2024).
Military communications satellite for Spain
Almost simultaneously, Europe’s most modern military communications satellite was launched from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in Florida on board a Space X Falcon 9 rocket.
The new satellite, called “SpainSat NG I”, operates in three frequency bands – X-band, military Ka-band and UHF – and thus enables secure long-distance communication for tactical operations. An active antenna system can detect, localize and mitigate interference.
The satellite, which is over six meters high and weighs more than two tons, was built by Thales Alenia Space together with Airbus Defense and Space and is scheduled to go into regular operation in mid-2025.
