A high resolution remote sensing satellite is being developed by Spain and Argentina.
Called Cesar, the satellite will be launched in 2003 and will be able to transmit 5m resolution images of the Earth, the Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial (INTA) says at Le Bourget.
INTA, which is in Hall 5, says the 400kg (880lb) spacecraft will be developed with Argentine space agency CONAE.
A launcher has not been selected but it could be Vega, Europe's new small booster, INTA says.
Resolution
The civilian remote sensing satellite will carry panchromatic and multispectral cameras and its high resolution panchromatic pictures could have military applications, says INTA.
The $7 million spacecraft will be launched into a 600km Sun-synchronous orbit and will have a platform based on Spain's first satellite, Minisat 01 which was launched on a US Pegasus booster in 1997.
Cesar will fly what is designated as the Minisat 1 mission.
There are plans to launch a Minisat 2, which will be a communications satellite and could be a forerunner of a potential fleet of spacecraft providing mobile or multimedia services.
Source: Flight Daily News
