French spy satellite launched into orbit

[Kellanved]

PARIS, France (AP) -- A European rocket roared into space from a pad in South America on Saturday, placing into orbit a surveillance satellite billed as giving France's military new abilities to spy worldwide.

The unmanned craft lifted off smoothly from a launch center in Kourou, French Guyana, at 1:26 p.m. local time (4:26 p.m. GMT) -- the third and last launch of an Ariane-5 rocket this year, Arianespace said.

The satellite and six smaller scientific ones were placed into orbit about an hour after liftoff. It was the first time in 11 years that an Ariane rocket carried as many as seven satellites on a single launch.

The Helios 2A military satellite, the rocket's main cargo, is to rotate in sun-synchronous orbit around 435 miles above the Earth, Arianespace said.

...
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/12/18/french.satellite.ap/

[RPM]

1. is this the satellite the chinese will be contracting from.

somewhere in the grey matter is ssomething about the US bing pissed at EU and china about this?

Or does my brain need erasing?

[whistle]

2. No your are correct it's like the three powers in the 1984 Orwell

novel, Oceana, and I can't recall the other two. But, they keep society under control by fear and manipulation and constant war.

[renegade000]

3. east asia and eurasia

i believe

[bobthedrummer]

4. Airstrip One also was mentioned in 1984.

[Kemet]

5. No

You are reffering to the european "GPS" system known as Galileo (sp?).
The E.U. has sold access to this system, not the helios which is a spy satellite. A second helios sat is being assembled and will work as a backup. BTW, Galileo is european, helios is french military.

[RPM]

6. thanks for setting me straight n/t