France wants to lease Japanese surveillance satellite for exercises

The French Ministry of Defence has announced the preparation of a low-orbit training mission for the personnel of the CdE Space Command. As part of this mission, it is planned to perform realistic rendezvous manoeuvres around a predetermined target.

Here's What We Know

The mission will be part of the ARES programme aimed at preparing for countering malicious acts in space. One of the demonstrations will be the TOUTATIS test, which will include the Splinter and Lisa1 satellites developed by U-Space.

Splinter will have a highly manoeuvrable and autonomous approach, while Lisa1 will serve as a surveillance satellite. It is planned to test confrontation or cooperation scenarios to assess the capabilities of the satellites in low orbit.

Since the CdE Air and Space Operations Brigade does not have the means to practice low-orbit manoeuvres, the Ministry of Defence decided to turn to the Japanese company Astroscale, which operates the ADRAS-J facility. Last November, it made a historic close approach, flying within 15 metres of a piece of space debris.

France plans to use the capabilities of ADRAS-J, as it is the only satellite in orbit with high manoeuvrability and the necessary sensors to autonomously approach targets. The satellite's fuel reserves allow for this mission, which could begin by the end of this year and last about eight months.

Source: Opex360