French military’s CSO 2 spy satellite to be launched today spaceflightnow.com

A sharp-eyed French military surveillance spacecraft is set for launch aboard a Soyuz rocket Monday from French Guiana into a 300-mile-high orbit, where it will collect the highest-resolution imagery ever produced by a European reconnaissance satellite.

French military’s CSO 2 spy satellite, the second of a series of orbiting reconnaissance platforms, will be launched today from a Russian Soyuz ST-A rocket at the Guiana Space Center in South America. Aiming to a 300-mile-high orbit, the satellite will collect the highest-resolution imagery ever produced by a European reconnaissance satellite.

The mission is running more than a half-year behind schedule and will be the 10th and final launch of the year for Arianespace.