Ariane 40 | Helios 1B

Launch Provider & Rocket

• Provider: Arianespace (Commercial)
• Rocket: Ariane 40 — Ariane family

Mission

The Helios program is Europe's military optical reconnaissance system consisting of both a space and a ground segment, which commenced service in 1995, jointly funded by the French, Italian and Spanish governments. The Helios I optical observation satellites, launched in July 1995 and December 1999 respectively, can acquire high resolution images of any point on the globe, with daily revisit capability. Helios-1B had suffered a breakdown of its power supply system in October 2004 and could no longer perform any work after operating for just under its 5-year nominal life expectancy.

• Type: Earth Science
• Orbit: Polar Orbit (PO)

Launch Site

• Pad: Ariane Launch Area 2
• Location: Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
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