Ostatni start roku 29.12. o 16:42:07 z Kourou wystrzelona została RN Sojuz-ST-A/Fregat-M, która wyniesie w T+54' 07" na orbitę o parametrach: hp=480 km, ha=480 km, i=97,3° francuskiego satelitę zwiadowczego CSO 2 (Composante Spatiale Optique-1).
http://lk.astronautilus.pl/n201216.htm#08

Soyuz ST-A launches CSO-2250 wyświetleń•29 gru 2020
Pomyślne wyniesienie na orbitę francuskiego wojskowego satelity obserwacyjnego CSO-2 BY REDAKCJA ON 17 STYCZNIA 2021
W kosmosie jest już drugi z trzech optycznych satelitów obserwacyjnych nowej generacji o bardzo wysokiej rozdzielczości.
Zbudowany przez Airbusa dla francuskich sił zbrojnych satelita obserwacyjny CSO-2 (Composante spatiale optique) został pomyślnie wyniesiony w kosmos przy pomocy rakiety Sojuz z europejskiego kosmodromu Kourou w Gujanie Francuskiej.
CSO-2 to drugi z trzech satelitów konstelacji CSO, która zapewni francuskiemu wojsku i partnerom w programie współpracy MUSIS (Multinational Space-based Imaging System) dostęp do zobrazowań rozpoznawczych powierzchni ziemi o ekstremalnie wysokiej rozdzielczości. Satelity CSO są wyposażone w bardzo sprawny system wskazujący obszar zainteresowania i są kontrolowane z bezpiecznego centrum operacyjnego. Konstelacja będzie dostarczać zobrazowania 3D i bardzo wysokiej rozdzielczości, w pasmach widzialnym i podczerwieni, wykonane w dzień i nocą, maksymalizując efekty operacyjne. Satelita CSO-2, identyczny z pierwszym satelitą CSO-1, zostanie jednak umieszczony na niższej orbicie polarnej na wysokości 480 km nad ziemią, co zwiększy zdolności rozpoznawcze konstelacji.
Informacje prasowe Airbus
https://kosmonauta.net/2021/01/pomyslne-wyniesienie-na-orbite-francuskiego-wojskowego-satelity-obserwacyjnego-cso-2/Soyuz launches French reconnaissance satellite in final 2020 launchby Jeff Foust — December 29, 2020
A Soyuz ST-A rocket lifts off from French Guiana Dec. 29 carrying the CSO-2 reconnaissance satellite. Credit: ArianespaceWASHINGTON — A Soyuz rocket successfully launched a French reconnaissance satellite Dec. 29 in what is likely the final launch of an active 2020 in spaceflight.
The Soyuz ST-A rocket lifted off from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana at 11:42 a.m. Eastern, after a one-day delay because of gusty upper-level winds. The Fregat upper stage, after performing two burns, released the Composante Spatiale Optique (CSO) 2 satellite nearly one hour after liftoff.
CSO-2 was built by Airbus Space and Defence for the French military. The 3,562-kilogram satellite carries an imaging payload provided by Thales Alenia Space to provide high-resolution images at optical and infrared wavelengths, enabling observations during daytime or nighttime.
The spacecraft is the second of three satellites in the overall CSO system, after the launch of CSO-1 in December 2018. CSO-1 operates in an 800-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit to serve what French officials call a “reconnaissance” mission, while CSO-2 will operate in a 480-kilometer orbit, producing higher resolution images for an “identification” mission. A third satellite, CSO-3, is scheduled for launch in 2022 to supplement CSO-1’s reconnaissance mission.
The launch was the third Soyuz mission this month for Arianespace. A Soyuz launched from French Guiana Dec. 1 carrying the FalconEye 2 imaging satellite for the United Arab Emirates, while another Soyuz, launching from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome Dec. 18, placed a set of 36 OneWeb satellites into orbit.
Arianespace conducted 10 launches in 2020 despite a nearly five-month hiatus from March to August because of the pandemic. Besides the three Soyuz launches this month, Arianespace conducted two other Soyuz launches of OneWeb satellites from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, as well as three Ariane 5 and two Vega launches from French Guiana. One of the two Vega launches, carrying two European Earth science satellites, failed in November because of improperly connected cables in the thrust vector control system of the rocket’s upper stage.
The launch is also the last scheduled orbital launch of 2020. There were 114 orbital launch attempts in the year, the same as in 2018 and up from the 102 in 2019. Ten of the 114 failed to reach orbit: four by China, four by U.S.-based companies, and one each by Iran and Europe. The United States accounted for 44 launches, including seven by Rocket Lab, a U.S.-headquartered company that launches from New Zealand. China performed 39 launches. Russian vehicles performed 17 launches, counting the two Soyuz launches from French Guiana.https://spacenews.com/soyuz-launches-french-reconnaissance-satellite-in-final-2020-launch/French military surveillance satellite launched by Soyuz rocketDecember 29, 2020 Stephen Clark
A Soyuz ST-A rocket fires off its launch pad in French Guiana with the CSO 2 spacecraft. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Piron(...) “Mission perfectly accomplished,” said Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, the French company that oversees launch operations in French Guiana.
“It’s a really moving moment, and great news for the French Armed Forces,” said Caroline Laurent, director of orbital systems at CNES, the French space agency, a partner for the French military on the CSO program. “Personally speaking, I think it is the best Earth observation satellite in the world.”
The CSO 2 spacecraft is set to provide the highest-resolution Earth observation images ever produced by a European satellite. The first images from CSO 2 are expected to be downlinked within about two weeks of launch, according to Laurent.
“We launched a magnificent satellite,” said Maj. Gen. Michel Friedling, head of French Space Command. “It will producing images of extraordinary quality. we are very much looking forward to this. Our military operators are behind their desks awaiting these images.” (...)
The French military’s CSO 2 reconnaissance satellite, with a cover over its optical telescope. Credit: ArianespacePlacing the CSO 2 satellite into a lower orbit allows it to “supply imagery at the highest possible level of resolution, quality and analytical precision,” CNES said on its website.
The improved imaging quality from CSO 2, flying in its lower orbit, makes the new satellite well-suited for follow-up observations from other satellites in the fleet. CSO 2 could help identify targets and reveal information not visible to satellites in higher orbits, which have a broader field-of-view.
In its low-altitude orbit, CSO 2 could identify the details of a car, according to Nadège Roussel, chief weapons engineer at DGA, the French military’s procurement agency.
“Such level of detail is real operational asset, and its performance makes this a unique system in Europe,” she said.
The three CSO satellites are identical, other than an adjustment in the focusing of the optical instrument on CSO 2 to allow it to take pictures from a lower altitude, according to Pierre-Emmanuel Martinez, CSO 2 satellite manager at CNES.
The new-generation CSO spy satellite fleet is costing the French government more than $1.5 billion, including spacecraft, launch and ground system upgrade expenses, according to French authorities. The program is funded through the DGA, and the French space agency CNES is responsible for in-orbit testing, satellite operations, and the purchasing of the spacecraft and launch services.
The French government has agreements to share optical imagery from the CSO satellites with the governments of Germany, Sweden, Belgium, and Italy, officials said. In exchange, the French military receives imagery from German and Italian radar observation satellites, which are designed for day-or-night, all-weather surveillance, and access to a ground station in Sweden.
The CSO satellites will also provide intelligence agencies and military officials imagery day-or-night in visible and infrared bands. The infrared imaging capability is an improvement over the Helios fleet, an upgraded enabled by the introduction of cryogenic cooling systems to chill infrared detectors on the CSO satellites.
Each CSO spacecraft features an agile pointing capability, allowing rapid steering from target to target, and enabling views from different look angles for three-dimensional stereo surveillance products.
French officials said reconnaissance imagery from the CSO satellites are useful in obtaining information about inaccessible regions, evaluating the strength of enemy military forces, and identifying civilians in close proximity to the battlefield. The images can help prepare plans for airstrikes, locate coordinates to guide missiles, avoid collateral damage to civilians, and allow commanders to evaluate the effectiveness of strikes by comparing images taken before and after a military operation.
The CSO 2 satellite also features a new autonomous orbit control capability, allowing the spacecraft to maintain its altitude and counteract atmospheric drag using quick burns of on-board thrusters. The satellite can perform the autonomous control maneuvers over the ocean and be ready to resume imaging operations once back over land, according to the French military.
The three CSO satellites were built by Airbus, with optical imaging instruments produced by Thales Alenia Space. CNES controls the satellites from a center in Toulouse, France, and the French military receives images at an airbase in Creil, France. (...)
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/12/29/french-military-surveillance-satellite-launched-by-soyuz-rocket/Photos: Soyuz launches French military satelliteJanuary 5, 2021 Stephen Clark
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Pironhttps://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/05/photos-soyuz-launches-french-military-satellite/https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/12/28/soyuz-vs25-mission-status-center/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/12/arianespace-cso-2-french-satellite/statystyki startu
https://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=4251.msg155374#msg155374https://cso.cnes.fr/en/csomusis-0CSO 2
https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/cso-1.htm