Hélios 2A

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General

Designation	28492 / 04049A
Launch date	18 Dec 2004
Country of origin	France
Mission	Military: reconnaissance
Perigee/Apogee	666 km sun-synchronous
Inclination	98.1°
Period	98.2 min
Launch vehicle	Ariane V165

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End of life

Out of service	Jan 2022
Cause	Partly fragmented in Jan 2022. Started lowering orbit in Feb 2022.
Decay

sat-index articles

Technical data

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Specifications

Prime contractor	Astrium under CNES control
Platform	Spot Mk 3
Mass at launch	4200 kg
Mass in orbit
Dimension	6.0 x 3.7 x 3.4 m
Solar array
Stabilization	3-axis
DC power
Design lifetime	9 years

Operates in visible and IR. Resolution: 40 to 60 cm

Very High Resolution (VHR) instrument: visible and IR. Resolution: 40 to 60 cm
Wide Angle (WA) instrument: similar to the Spot 5 one

The HRZ (High Resolution Zoom) imaging instrument can simultanously acquire an image of a given zone (visible our IR) and another overall view.

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