IR detectors begin surveillance from space
A
Sofradir product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jun 22, 2005
Infra-red detectors from Sofradir are now fully operational in the European military space satellite, Helios IIA, making day and night observations as well as detecting activity on Earth.
Infra-red detectors from Sofradir are now fully operational in the European military space satellite, Helios IIA, and are making day and night observations as well as detecting activity on Earth.
Helios IIA is the first of two satellites in the Helios II system, a second generation defence programme supported by France, Belgium and Spain that takes over from the Helios I spacecraft family.
Sofradir supplied its IR detectors to Alcatel Space for integration in the high-resolution (HR) imaging instruments used in Helios IIA.
In addition to improving the quality of images captured by Helios IIA, Sofradir's IR detector provides end users with night imagery, a first in the Helios defence and security programme.
"The pictures already captured by the IR imager using our state of the art IR detectors have exceeded expectations".
"The armed forces and services from the participating European countries are very pleased with its performance and recognise our contribution to the programme's success", says Philippe Bensussan, CEO of Sofradir.
"Our technology is space-qualified, and this has led to our selection in other satellite programs, such as Spirale".
Bernard Verez, Alcatel Space Deputy Director in charge of defence and dual-use applications, formerly Project Manager of the Helios II high resolution telescope, states: "Sofradir deserves to be congratulated for their contribution to Helios II, which is a result of outstanding team work between our two companies and great detector technologies".
Helios IIA was launched in December 2004.
Sofradir's work on its Helios IIA IR detector began 10 years earlier in 1994.
"These first IR detectors for space applications have been an outstanding achievement and much credit goes to our technicians and engineers who have dedicated time, skill and energy to the project".
"We are proud of their work and the superior quality of our mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) technology", Bensussan added.
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