Arianespace has successfully launched the CSO-3 reconnaissance satellite for the French Armed Forces aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. This marks the rocket’s first commercial mission following its mostly successful inaugural test flight in July 2024.
At 17:24 CET on 6 March, an Ariane 6 rocket lifted off from the ELA-4 launch facility at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The rocket was launched in its Ariane 62 configuration, featuring two P120C boosters strapped to its Vulcain 2.1-powered core stage. Approximately one hour into the flight, the CSO-3 reconnaissance satellite was deployed into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of approximately 800 km.
After the successful deployment of the CSO-3 satellite, the rocket’s upper stage complete a third and final boost putting it on a reentry orbit to safely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. This is an element of the mission that Ariane 6 failed to complete during its inaugural flight.
Following the successful deployment of the CSO-3, France’s Minister for Higher Education and Research, Philippe Baptiste, explained that the flight was a significant milestone and that Ariane 6 was the “guiding thread” of European strategic autonomy in space for years to come.
“If we want to maintain our independence, ensure our security, and preserve our sovereignty, we must equip ourselves with the means for strategic autonomy,” said Baptiste. “For this sovereignty, we must not yield to the temptation of preferring SpaceX or another competitor that may seem trendier, more reliable, or cheaper. We did not yield for CSO-3, and we will not yield in the future. We cannot yield because doing so would mean closing the door to space for good. And there would be no turning back! This is why this first commercial launch of Ariane 6 is not just a technical and one-off success. It marks a new milestone, essential in the choice of European space independence and sovereignty.”
The final piece of France’s spy satellite constellation
The 3,600-kilogram CSO-3 satellite was built by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space for the French Defence Procurement and Technology Agency and the French space agency CNES, on behalf of the French Air and Space Force’s Space Command. It is the third and final satellite of the country’s Optical Space Component (Composante Spatiale Optique) constellation, which provides high-resolution imagery for military operations and national security purposes. In addition to being used by the French Armed Forces, the country’s European partners also have access to data acquired by the constellation.
With the development and deployment of the CSO constellation now complete, France will begin working on its successor, the IRIS programme. Launched in July 2019, the IRIS programme gained National Assembly approval in May 2023, clearing the way for the first IRIS satellite launch by 2030. According to the French Air and Space Force, the programme will usher in a “new generation of military observation satellites that will work to renew French military space capabilities.”
Arianespace has launched the first operational flight of Ariane 6 successfully deploying the CSO-3 spy satellite for the French Armed Forces.
