HELIOS 2B

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HELIOS 2B is classified as:

Military

NORAD ID: 36124

Int'l Code: 2009-073A

Perigee: 687.3 km

Apogee: 688.7 km

Inclination: 98.1 °

Period: 98.4 minutes

Semi major axis: 7058 km

RCS: Unknown

Launch date: December 17, 2009
Source: France (FR)
Launch site: FRENCH GUIANA (FRGUI)

Helios 2B is a French spy satellite that will do its work from a 435-mile-high (700-km-high) orbit taking the spacecraft over almost all of the Earth's surface every day. The spacecraft joins an orbiting fleet of military platforms with optical and infrared imagers to map battlefields, monitor terrorist threats and enforce disarmament and non-proliferation treaties. The 9,259-pound (4,200-kg) Helios 2B spacecraft will join two other Helios satellites already in space. Helios 1A was launched in 1995 and Helios 2A arrived in orbit in 2004. The high-resolution camera will provide an ultra-stable platform for high definition and infrared optical images for day and night coverage. French military officials did not specify the camera's resolution. The wide-field instrument is based on the camera aboard the civilian Spot 5 remote sensing satellite. It will collect medium-resolution images across a wide footprint for cartography applications, according to the French defense ministry.