France launched its new CSO-3 satellite (Composante Spatiale Optique) on March 6, 2025 on Ariane 6’s first commercial flight from the European Spaceport in Kourou. It is planned that CSO-3 should operate in orbit for 10 years.
In connection with France's promise to transfer the necessary intelligence data to Ukraine, it can be assumed that Ukraine will, among other things, receive ultra-high-resolution satellite images from the new CSO-3 satellite.
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Ariane 6 lift’s off from @EuropeSpacePort tonight. On board: CSO-3 satellite for @DGA & @CNES, on behalf of the French Air and Space Force’s Space Command. pic.twitter.com/Fa3Mdg7SGN— Arianespace (@Arianespace) March 6, 2025
It should be noted that previously the satellites of this series (CSO-1 and CSO-2) were launched into orbit by russian Soyuz rockets from the European Spaceport in Kourou, but after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, France refused to use these rockets.
The French satellite CSO-3 is capable of taking satellite images in 3D format with high resolution in the visible and infrared spectrum and, accordingly, is capable of monitoring with equal quality both during the day and at night.
The first satellite of the series - CSO-1 was launched into orbit in December 2018, the next - CSO-2 was launched in December 2020. The first and third satellites are at an altitude of 800 km, which allows for images with a resolution of 35 cm. But CSO-2 is much lower at an altitude of 480 km, thanks to which it can take pictures with a resolution of 20 cm. The weight of the satellites of this series is 3.5 tons, but even with this weight, these satellites are quite maneuverable.
The launch of the CSO-3 satellite was planned back in December 2024, but it was postponed to February 26. However, this time the launch of the satellite was also postponed to March 3 - due to technical operations on the ground. In turn, the launch on March 3 also did not take place - then, a few minutes before the start, a technical problem was discovered with the valve of the refueling system. Finally, after another postponement of the launch, on March 6, at 17:24, the European Ariane 6 launch vehicle with the satellite on board launched from the European Spaceport in Kourou and put CSO-3 into orbit at an altitude of 800 km.
The CSO (Optical Space Component) satellite launch project began in late 2010, when Airbus signed a contract with the French space agency CNES, which in turn acted on behalf of the French Ministry of Defense's Directorate General for Armaments (DGA).
The initial agreement called for the launch of two CSO satellites. After Germany joined the program in 2015, the program expanded to three satellites. The program was launched to replace the aging Helios 2 reconnaissance satellites.
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