SPIRALE A

Spacecraft nº:

France spacecraft nº: 58

Launch data: Designation  33751 / 09008C Launch date  12 Feb 2009 - 22:09 UT Launch site  Ko, ELA-3 Launch vehicle  Ariane-5ECA Mission  Military: Technology development Early Warning Elliptical Earth orbit on Feb 14.91: Perigee / Apogee  260 x 35721 km Eccentricity   Inclination  2.03 deg Period  630.98 min Elliptical Earth orbit on Mar 7.98: Perigee / Apogee  608 x 35717 km Eccentricity  7.16E-01 Inclination  1.94 deg Period  637.65 min

Spacecraft data:

Mission details:

• Ariane 5 flight V187, vehicle L545 took off from Kourou on Feb 12. Its two communication satellite paylods were Eutelsat's Hot Bird 10 and SES New Skies' NSS 9. Ejected from the ASAP5 adapter on the upper stage were two small French military satellites, SPIRALE A and B. The 117 kg SPIRALE satellites carry infrared telescopes and will demonstrate a French missile early warning capability.
• The two SPIRALE satellites are test-beds for infra-red imaging, in support of a future French early warning programme: they are launched for the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) and they are manufactured by EADS Astrium/Thales Alenia Space using the Myriade platform. The body of each satellite is box-shaped, 0.72 x 0.72 x 1.36 metres, with solar panels which span 2.17 metres.
• Demonstration program designed to collect infrared images of terrestrial backgrounds and analyze them to assess the detectability of ballistic missiles during their powered phase. It will pave the way for a future ballistic missile warning system.