Helios 2 (satellite)
The Helios 2 system, which consists of the Helios 2A and Helios 2B, is a French-developed military Earth observation satellite program. Financed at 90% by France, the development also involved minor participation from Belgium, Spain, Italy and Greece. Helios 2A was launched on 18 December 2004 by an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.
Helios 2B was launched five years later, on 18 December 2009, carried also by an Ariane 5. The two satellites are identical. They carry a Thales-built high-resolution visible and thermal infrared instrument with 35 cm resolution, and an Airbus-built medium-resolution instrument. The Helios 2 satellite bus is nearly identical to the platform built by EADS Astrium for the Spot 5 civil-commercial optical observation satellite.
The Helios 2 will be replaced by the Composante Spatiale Optique, a new French program of three military observation satellites. The first satellite was launched on 15 December 2018, the second on 29 December 2020, with the final launch being scheduled for 2024.