Launch Of France's CSO-1 Spy Satellite On Russian Rocket Slated For December 18 - Source

Launch of France's CSO-1 Spy Satellite on Russian Rocket Slated for December 18 - Source

The launch of the French Defense Ministry's CSO-1 reconnaissance satellite on the Russian Soyuz-ST carrier rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana is scheduled for December 18, a source in the space industry told Sputnik on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2018) The launch of the French Defense Ministry's CSO-1 reconnaissance satellite on the Russian Soyuz-ST carrier rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana is scheduled for December 18, a source in the space industry told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Earlier reports suggested that the launch was slated for December 14.

"The launch is planned for 7:37 p.m. Moscow time [16:37 GMT]. The French satellite will be delivered to the target orbit by the Fregat upper stage," the source said.

The Airbus Defence and Space company is set to produce the CSO-1 and CSO-2 for the French military to replace the latter's Helios 2A and Helios 2B satellites, launched in 2004 and 2009, respectively.