France to launch another military spy satellite

PARIS -- France is going to launch another military spy satellite from the European Space Agency (ESA) launch site in French Guiana on Wednesday, the defense ministry and ESA have announced.

The launcher Arianespace confirmed on its website that the final preparation for shooting Helios 2B has finished. The first such launch under French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set for 1626 GMT on December 9 from Guiana Space Center in Kourou.

"In an international context marked by uncertainties, France must be able to understand the strategic environment in which she is evolving and to anticipate threats," the defense ministry said in a briefing document.

France aims to rely on Helios 2B for better image and identification on sites, areas of military interest, which possibly include uncharted zones in Afghanistan, Iraq, Chad and Sudan.

Its predecessor Helios 2A was placed into orbit also by Arianespace in December 2004.

This satellite is part of a second-generation defense and security observation system developed by France in collaboration with Belgium, Spain and Italy. The French Defense Ministry, in charge of the program, has missioned the French National Center of Spatial Study (CNES) responsible for the space segment.

As to the intelligence information captured by the new satellite, France has signed data exchanging contracts with Italy and Germany, local media reported.France has laid special emphasis on space in its 2009-2010 military program, with its space budget expected to rise gradually from 380 million euros in 2008 to over 600 million euros in 2014, and a Space joint Command to be established on July 1, 2010.