France launches three CERES satellites aboard Arianespace Vega rocket

STUTTGART, Germany — Three French military signals intelligence satellites are now in space after a successful launch Tuesday morning aboard an Arianespace Vega rocket from the nation’s spaceport in French Guiana.

The constellation — called CapacitÉ de Renseignement Électromagnétique Spatiale, or CERES — will allow France to better collect intelligence from electromagnetic origins in space, the country’s Ministry of Defense said in a Tuesday press release.

The three satellites will be positioned about 700 km from Earth in low-Earth orbit, per the ministry. This will allow France to collect data that was previously inaccessible from land, sea, or airborne sensors, and for the country’s military to more quickly and effectively adapt to new operational scenarios.

“CERES will make it possible to detect and locate, from space, systems, such as radars, radio or communication means, and provide their technical characteristics,” the ministry said. The all-weather systems will be operational 24 hours a day, and capable of collecting electromagnetic intelligence anywhere in the world.

Minister of Defense Florence Parly on Tuesday hailed the successful launch as the nation demonstrating further sovereignty and strategic independence in the space domain. “France is confirming its strength in the space sector, by combining technologies and resources that few countries in the world have mastered,” she said.

Airbus Defence and Space is the prime contractor for the €450 million ($510 million) CERES program, with Thales Defence Mission Systems in charge of the payload and user ground segment.

The satellites will be operated and tracked by France’s Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES), while the French procurement office Direction générale de l’armement (DGA) is in charge of the whole program.

CERES is one of multiple satellite development programs being funded under the nation’s 2019-2025 military program law, and the French military plans to spend 646 million euros in the space domain in 2022 . Additionally, the Air and Space Force expects to complete its CSO Earth observation satellite constellation with the third system’s launch in 2022.

The first Syracuse IV system was launched Oct. 23 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, and will be an upgrade over the current Syracuse III system, providing greater connectivity for multi-domain operations.

Tuesday’s launch, from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, was the third Vega launch in 2021, and the 12th Arianespace mission of the year.

Vivienne Machi is a reporter based in Stuttgart, Germany, contributing to Defense News' European coverage. She previously reported for National Defense Magazine, Defense Daily, Via Satellite, Foreign Policy and the Dayton Daily News. She was named the Defence Media Awards' best young defense journalist in 2020.

德国斯图加特——周二上午，法国阿丽亚娜航天公司一枚织女星火箭从法属圭亚那的法国航天发射场成功发射，三颗法国军用信号情报卫星现已进入太空。

法国国防部周二在一份新闻稿中表示，这个名为“空间电磁信息能力”（CapacitÉ de Renseignement Électromagnétique Spatiale，简称 CERES）的星座将使法国能够更好地收集来自太空电磁源的情报。

据法国国防部称，这三颗卫星将部署在距离地球约700公里的近地轨道上。这将使法国能够收集此前陆地、海洋或空中传感器无法获取的数据，并使法国军方能够更快、更有效地适应新的作战场景。

“CERES系统将能够从太空探测和定位雷达、无线电或通信设备等系统，并提供其技术特征，”该部表示。这套全天候系统将24小时运行，能够收集全球任何地点的电磁情报。

法国国防部长弗洛朗丝·帕利周二盛赞此次发射成功，称其进一步展现了法国在太空领域的自主权和战略独立性。她表示：“法国通过整合世界上少数几个国家掌握的技术和资源，再次证明了其在航天领域的实力。”

空中客车防务与航天公司是价值 4.5 亿欧元（5.1 亿美元）的 CERES 项目的主承包商，泰雷兹防务任务系统公司负责有效载荷和用户地面部分。

这些卫星将由法国国家空间研究中心 (CNES) 操作和跟踪，而法国国防采购局 (DGA) 则负责整个计划。

CERES是法国2019-2025年军事计划法案资助的多个卫星研发项目之一，法国军方计划在2022年投入6.46亿欧元用于航天领域。此外，法国空军和航天部队预计将在2022年发射第三颗卫星后，完成其CSO地球观测卫星星座的建设。

第一个 Syracuse IV 系统于 10 月 23 日搭乘 Ariane 5 火箭发射升空，它将是对现有 Syracuse III 系统的升级，为多域作战提供更强的连接性。

周二从法属圭亚那库鲁的圭亚那航天中心发射的这次发射，是 2021 年的第三次织女星火箭发射，也是阿丽亚娜航天公司今年的第 12 次任务。

薇薇安·马奇是驻德国斯图加特的一名记者，主要负责《防务新闻》的欧洲报道。她此前曾为《国家防务杂志》、《防务日报》、《卫星通讯》、《外交政策》和《代顿每日新闻》撰稿。2020年，她荣获防务媒体奖最佳青年防务记者称号。