The last launch of 2020 was an Arianespace Soyuz-2 for the CSO-2 mission on December 29th at 16:42 UTC. CSO-2 is an Earth observation satellite intended for military and security applications that is in a Sun-synchronous orbit. This means the satellite consistently sees the Earth with similar shadows. This kind of orbit makes spotting any changes from one orbit to another very easy to spot.

This is the second satellite of the Optical Space Component program (which from French becomes CSO). This will be a constellation of three satellites dedicated to Earth observation in polar orbits at different altitudes. CSO-1 and CSO-3 are intended as reconnaissance missions, while CSO-2’s intended use is identification.

The French space agency CNES is responsible for the satellite’s operation, while the French armed forces headquarters is the operating authority for the constellation.

Like I mentioned before, the CSO-2 satellite is in Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 480 km. It will be used to acquire extremely-high-resolution images in the visible and infrared bandwidths, day or night and in fair weather, and using a variety of imaging modes to meet as many operational requirements as possible.

This was the tenth and final launch of 2020 for Arianespace, and their fifth last year to use a Soyuz medium launcher.

More Information

Arianespace press release 

Arianespace mission page 

Ministry of Armies press release (French)

Space Command press release (French)

CSO info page (Gunter’s Space Page)