CNES (Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales), the French Space Agency, brought its own programme to a close when it de-orbited SPOT 5 in 2015, but Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus DS) is continuing with SPOT 6 and SPOT 7 - launched in 2012 and 2014 - and leveraging the operational applications nurtured by their predecessors. EADS Astrium, later renamed Airbus Defence and Space, took the decision to build this constellation in 2009 on the basis of a perceived government need for this kind of data.

Spot Image, a subsidiary of Airbus DS, funded the satellites alone and owned the system (satellites and ground segments) at the time of launch.

With SPOT 6 and SPOT 7, Airbus DS secured the mission continuity of the SPOT series, which has collected an archive of more than 30 million scenes since 1986. This new generation of optical satellites features technological improvements and advanced system performance that increases reactivity and acquisition capacity as well as simplifying data access.

Airbus DS is the commercial satellite operator, supported by its worldwide network of resellers.

At CNES, the SPOT programme has left a legacy with the Pléiades satellites, offering a ground resolution of 70 cm.

Spot Image and Airbus DS (as EADS Astrium) completed the design work on the SPOT 6 satellite in 2007. The spacecraft features CMGs (Control Moment Gyroscopes) instead of reaction wheels to improve pointing manoeuverability.

The architecture is similar to that of the Pléiades satellites, with a centrally mounted optical instrument, a three-axis star tracker, a fibre-optic gyro and four control moment gyros.

SPOT 6 is in a Sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of 694 km.

SPOT 6 and 7 operate in a phased orbit with Pléiades satellites. This constellation of four satellites provides an ideal combination of detail and coverage, with dual daily revisits to any point on the globe.

Learn more about SPOT 6 from these related websites:

• SPOT 6 and 7 on Airbus Defence and Space Website*
• SPOT 6 and 7 technical article on the eoPortal*

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