Europe's Vega Lofts Kazakhstan's First Reconnaissance Satellite

摘要

Europe's Vega small-satellite launcher on April 29 successfully placed into low Earth orbit a high-resolution optical Earth observation satellite for the government of Kazakhstan in the rocket's third success in three attempts since its February 2012 inaugural launch. The launch was Vega's first fully commercial flight, meaning there were no European government customers on board. With its French-built KazEOSat-1 satellite, also known as DZZ-HR, now healthy in orbit, Kazakhstan joins the fast-growing list of nations with autonomous reconnaissance satellites capable of detecting objects as small as 1 meter in diameter. KazEOSat-1, like most of the other new high-resolution satellites ordered by national governments in the past few years, was built by Airbus Defence and Space. With its occasional - but not systematic - partner, Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy, providing the optical sensors, Airbus Defence and Space has carved out for itself a dominant position in a market that now appears to be taking off.