SYDNEY — Europe’s first space-based space surveillance satellite, launched in March aboard the SpaceX Transporter-13 ride-share mission, is working so well in low Earth orbit that the French government is considering development of a constellation of similar sensors.
The 12U, 18-kilogram SOAP satellite — Space Debris Observation and Protection — was built by prime contractor U-Space, a startup, using a camera provided by Airbus Defence and Space. It is designed to operate for at least two years, with a possible extension, in a 590 . . .
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