The CSO-3 (Composante Spatiale Optique) Earth observation satellite built by Airbus for the French Armed Forces has been successfully launched by Arianespace on the first commercial flight of Ariane 6 from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou.
CSO-3 is the third in the fleet of three CSO satellites, which will provide very high-resolution geoinformation intelligence to the French Armed Forces and their partners as part of the MUSIS (Multinational Space Imaging System for surveillance, reconnaissance and observation) program.
As prime contractor for the CSO satellite programme, Airbus provided the agile platform and avionics, and was also responsible for the integration and testing, and final delivery of the satellite to the French Space Agency, CNES. Thales Alenia Space provided Airbus with the very high-resolution optical instrument.
Airbus teams have also developed directly for the DGA, the customised and dynamic Ground Segment on behalf of the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) for the benefit of the French Space Command (CDE), which enables the confidential distribution and sharing of information for and its partners from various European states.
The CSO satellites are equipped with a highly agile pointing system for highly efficient image acquisition and are controlled from a secure ground control operations center. The fleet offers 3D and ultra-high resolution imaging capabilities in both visible and infrared bandwidths, enabling day and night acquisition and maximizing operational utilization.
The CSO-3 satellite, identical to CSO-1 and 2, will complement CSO-1’s reconnaissance operations with enhanced coverage and revisit capabilities over large areas at an altitude of 800 km. Flying at a lower altitude, CSO-2’s focus is on identification, providing much higher resolution image quality and precision analysis.
The satellite’s tremendous agility and stability allow it to quickly deliver high-quality images from the Thales Alenia Space instrument to s, even for the most complex acquisition schedules.
Airbus was awarded the CSO contract in late 2010 by CNES, acting on behalf of the French Defence Procurement Agency, DGA. The contract included an option for a third satellite, which was activated after ed the programme in 2015.
The success of this Ariane 6 launch was also made possible by Airbus employees in Spain and the Netherlands, who contribute to each Ariane 6 launcher, including from Spain large carbon fibre structures (interstage structures, launch vehicle adapter and solid booster tops), as well as electronics and 90% of the wiring. The engine propulsion structures for the Vulcain 2.1 and Vinci engines are supplied from the Netherlands.
The MUSIS program
In 2010, in the absence of an agreement on the European MUSIS initiative to replace existing systems (the French Hélios and Pléiades optical systems, and the German and Italian SAR-Lupe and Cosmo-SkyMed radar systems) and to reduce the risk of a capability gap at the end of the Helios II's service life, launched a national programme also called MUSIS, led by the DGA. Since then, eight countries have ed the CSO community through bilateral cooperation agreements: (2015), Sweden (2015), Belgium (2017), Italy (2019), Spain (2021), Switzerland (2023), Poland (2024) and Greece (2024).
This programme includes three Optical Space Component (CSO) satellites, a Mission Ground Segment and a Ground Segment, enabling access to the German SARah satellites and the realisation of the CIL, enabling access to the Italian CSG satellites. These assets provide situational awareness and strategic intelligence capabilities, as well as for crisis prevention and anticipation, and for the planning and conduct of operations.
