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Pléiades 1 Satellite

Pléiades 1 satellite is a constellation comprised of two wide-footprint satellites with 50-cm resolution and one massive archive.

Sample imagery

1-pleiades1a

Pléiades 1 50-cm Natural Color–Rio Nevado, Chile; October 22, 2016 View Full Size Image

The Pléiades 1 Advantage

Any Location, Every Day

These twin satellites deliver color 50-cm products collected over any location on the planet, every day.

Multiple Imaging Modes

The Pléiades 1 constellation features multiple imaging modes to fit the needs of any mapping project: (1) target-to collect small polygons; (2) strip mapping-to collect large polygons; (3) stereo and tri-stereo-to collect data for elevation models; (4) corridors-to collect narrow passageways; and (5) persistent surveillance mode-to collect multiple (four or more) views of the same location.

Emergency Response

With advanced ordering and production systems, imagery from the Pléiades constellation can be accessed within 6 hours (best case scenario) of data acquisition. This makes Pléiades 1 the clear choice for emergency and disaster responders.

Overview & History

Launched on December 17, 2011 from Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guiana, Pléiades 1A was the first high resolution satellite in the Airbus Defense and Space constellation. Joined by its twin, Pléiades 1B, in space on December 2, 2012 after launching from the same pad, they provide 50-centimeter (cm) panchromatic and 2-meter (m) 4-band multispectral (i.e. blue, green, red and near-infrared/NIR) products with one of the widest footprints of any high resolution satellite at 20 kilometers (km). It should be noted that the native resolution of Pléiades 1A and 1B is 70-cm panchromatic and 2.8-m multispectral before it is processed for delivery.

The Pléiades 1 twins are exceptionally agile with the ability to collect one million square km of high resolution imagery per day per satellite. Featuring daily revisit time to any location on the planet, the Pléiades constellation separates itself from the competition for site monitoring and projects requiring rapid imagery acquisitions.

Pléiades 1 Specifications

Launch Details
  • Launch Date: December 17, 2011, 02:04 UTC (1A), December 2, 2012, 02:03 UTC (1B)
  • Vehicle: Soyuz rocket
  • Site: Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guiana
  • Expected Mission Life: at least 5 years for each satellite, with at least 7 years of propellant
Pléiades 1 Components
  • Satellite Mass: 1,000 kg
  • Solar Array: 5 square meters of Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) panels, 150 Amp-hour lithium battery
  • Control Systems:
    • 3-axis stabilized
    • Actuators: four control movement gyros (CMGs)
    • Altitude determination: three star trackers
    • Orbit determination: DORIS receiver
  • Onboard Storage Capacity: 600 GBits, solid state mass memory
  • Ground Communication Systems:
    • Imagery downlink–465 Mbits per second, 3 channels, X-band
    • TT&C link–S-band
  • Focal Plane:
    • 5 panchromatic array assemblies–6,000 pixels per array, 13 µm pixel size
    • 5 multispectral array assemblies–1,500 pixels per array, 52 µm pixel size
  • Optical Sensor Assembly: 650-mm diameter primary mirror, 13-m focal length, 65-cm aperture
Orbit Characteristics
  • Altitude: 695 km
  • Period: 98.79 minutes
  • Inclination: 98.2°
  • Direction: sun-synchronous quasi-circular, north to south (across the lit side of Earth)
  • Equatorial Crossing Time: 10:30 AM local time (approximate; across lit side of Earth)
  • Maximum Constellation Revisit Frequency: (at Equator)
    • 1 day (43° off-nadir)
    • 4 days (30° off-nadir)
    • 5 days (20° off-nadir)
    • 13 days (5° off-nadir)
Imaging System
  • Spectral Bands:
    • Panchromatic
    • 4-band multispectral (blue, green, red and NIR)
  • Sensor Resolution:
    • At nadir–70-cm panchromatic & 2.8-m multispectral
    • Imagery products are delivered at a certified 50-cm panchromatic and 2-m multispectral resolution by a splining function
  • Spectral Band Wavelength Range: (in nm)
    • Panchromatic–470 to 830
    • Blue (B0)–430 to 550
    • Green (B1)–500 to 620
    • Red (B2)–590 to 710
    • NIR (B3)–740 to 940
  • Dynamic Range: 12-bits
Collection Capabilities
  • Footprint Width: 20 km (at nadir)
  • Single Satellite Maximum Collection Geometry:
    • Mono, large area, 20° off-nadir–120 km x 65 km (6 strips wide)
    • Mono, large area, 30° off-nadir–140 km x 105 km (6 strips wide)
    • Stereo–350 km x 20 km, 150 km x 40 km (tri-stereo mode available)
    • Single site–30+ images in one pass
  • Retargeting Ability: slew > 3° per second within < 2 seconds
  • Daily Collection Capacity: 1,000,000 sq km per satellite
  • Georeferenced Horizontal Accuracy: < 10-m CE90 (global average, dependent on terrain)

Pricing

Data Source

archive

Minimum Order Size

25 sq km (per area & date)

Product Type

georeferenced + natural color

For an exact quote, please contact our Sales Team by email at sales@apollomapping.com
or by using our Request a Quote form.

Completing an atmospheric correction and/or radiance conversion of Pléiades 1A/1B imagery?

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