Morocco will launch next November 8th its first Pleiade satellite from the European space port of Kourou in French Guiana, according to some Moroccan web sites.
Built by Airbus defense & Space Company, this Moroccan satellite will be launched with an Italian Vega rocket.
Designed as a dual civil/military system, Pleiades deliver very-high-resolution optical data products in record time and offer a daily revisit capability to any point on the globe.
They are able to obtain data in double-quick time. These types of satellites operate as a constellation in the same orbit, phased 180° apart.
Pleiades can also provide imagery anywhere in the world in less than 24 hours in response to a crisis or natural disaster. These satellites offer a wide coverage, fine detail, intensive monitoring, extensive archives and 50 cm resolution imagery.
This satellite system was born under the French-Italian ORFEO program (Optical & Radar Federated Earth Observation) between 2001 and 2003.
Equipped with innovative latest-generation space technologies like fiber-optic gyros and control moment gyros, Pleiades-HR 1A and 1B offer exceptional roll, pitch and yaw (slew) agility, enabling the system to maximize the number of acquisitions above a given area.
This agility coupled with particularly dynamic image acquisition programing make the Pleiades system very responsive to specific user requirements.
Source: http://northafricapost.com/19570-morocco-launch-1st-pleiade-satellite.html