Arianespace orbits the MOHAMMED VI–B satellite

ARIANESPACE – Flight VV13 Mission poster.

November 20, 2018

Arianespace orbits the MOHAMMED VI – B satellite on 13th successful Vega launch in a row

Arianespace has successfully launched the MOHAMMED VI-B Earth observation satellite, developed for the Kingdom of Morocco by a consortium comprising Thales Alenia Space as system prime contractor and Airbus as co-prime.

Arianespace’s ninth launch of the year, and the second using Vega in 2018, took place on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at 10:42 p.m. (local time) from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana (South America).

Arianespace Flight VV13 – MOHAMMED VI

This launch marks the 13th successful mission in a row for Vega since it entered service in 2012, as Arianespace continues to prove that its light launcher is a perfect match for the requirements of both government and commercial customers.

A second Earth observation satellite for Morocco

The MOHAMMED VI–B satellite is the second spacecraft launched by Arianespace for the Kingdom of Morocco, within the scope of the country’s Earth observation program, MOHAMMED VI–A & B. It joins the MOHAMMED VI–A satellite which was orbited by Arianespace on November 7, 2017, also using a Vega launcher.

The MOHAMMED VI–B satellite will mostly be used for mapping and land surveying, regional development, agricultural monitoring, the prevention and management of natural disasters, monitoring changes in the environment and desertification, and border and coastal surveillance.

MOHAMMED VI–B satellite

Thales Alenia Space, as system prime contractor, supplied the payload, including the optical instrument, the image transmission subsystem and the ground segment for image processing and production. Airbus, as satellite prime contractor, was in charge of its integration, as well as supplying the platform and the ground segment for mission planning and satellite control.

Including this mission, Arianespace has now orbited 67 Earth observation satellites using its family of launchers: Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, for institutional and commercial customers. From this standpoint, the end of the year is symbolic: after two successful launches in November (Metop-C on Soyuz for EUMETSAT on November 5, and the MOHAMMED VI–B satellite on Vega today), two other launches for Earth observation are scheduled in December: GEO-KOMPSAT-2A on Ariane 5, followed by CSO-1 for the French DGA (Directorate General of Armaments) and the French CNES space agency on Soyuz.

From the total of all satellites launched by Arianespace, 10% were for Earth observation missions, in particular for European programs: Copernicus for the European Space Agency (ESA) and Metop/Meteosat for EUMETSAT.

For more information about Arianespace, visit: http://www.arianespace.com/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: Arianespace/Günter Space Page.

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