Mohammed VI (satellites)

Moroccan Earth observation and reconnaissance satellites

Mohammed VI

Mission type| Earth observation and reconnaissance
Operator| Government of Morocco
COSPAR ID| 2017-070A (A)
2018-095A (B)
SATCAT no.| 43005 (A)[1]
43717 (B)[2]
Mission duration| 5 years (planned)
7 years, 4 months, 9 days (elapsed; A)
6 years, 3 months, 24 days (elapsed; B)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft| Mohammed VI-A
Mohammed VI-B
Spacecraft type| Observation satellite
Bus| Astrosat-1000
Manufacturer| Airbus Defence and Space
Thales Alenia Space[3]
Launch mass| 1,110 kg (2,450 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date| November 8, 2017 (2017-11-08) (A)
November 21, 2018 (2018-11-21) (B)
Rocket| Vega
Launch site| Guiana Space Centre ELA-1
Contractor| Arianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference system| Geocentric
Regime| Low Earth
Semi-major axis| 7,106 km (4,415 mi) (A)[1]
7,106 km (4,415 mi) (B)[2]
Periapsis altitude| 644.8 km (400.7 mi) (A)
644.6 km (400.5 mi) (B)
Apoapsis altitude| 646.5 km (401.7 mi) (A)
646.7 km (401.8 mi) (B)
Inclination| 97.9°
Period| 97.5 minutes

Mohammed VI

The Mohammed VI satellites are a series of two Moroccan Earth observation and reconnaissance satellites, namely Mohammed VI-A and Mohammed VI-B, developed and built by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space based upon the Astrosat-1000 satellite bus. They are Morocco's first optical imaging satellites, and are operated by Morocco's Ministry of Defense, with an expected service life of 5 years.[4] They are named after Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco.[5]

## Design

[edit]

### Satellite bus

[edit]

Both satellites are based on the Astrosat-1000 satellite bus.[5] They have a launch mass of 1,110 kg (2,450 lb) and have three deployable solar arrays, and an expected service life of around 5 years.[6]

### Propulsion

[edit]

The satellites have four hydrazine thrusters for reboosting its orbit and keeping its altitude.[6]

## Launch

[edit]

### Mohammed VI-A

[edit]

Main article: Vega flight VV11

The Mohammed VI-A satellite, Morocco's first spy satellite, was launched on Vega flight VV11 on board the Vega launcher from Guiana Space Centre ELA-1, French Guiana, on November 8, 2017. It was launched to low Earth Sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 97.9°.[1][4]

### Mohammed VI-B

[edit]

Main article: Vega flight VV13

The Mohammed VI-B satellite, Morocco's second spy satellite, was launched a year later on Vega flight VV14 from Guiana Space Centre ELA-1, French Guiana, on November 28, 2018. It was launched to Low Earth Sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 97.9°.[2][5]

## See also

[edit]

* List of Earth observation satellites

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Technical details for satellite MOHAMMED VI-A". N2YO.com - Real Time Satellite Tracking and Predictions. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
2. ^ a b c "Technical details for satellite MOHAMMED VI-B". N2YO.com - Real Time Satellite Tracking and Predictions. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
3. ^ "Mohammed VI A, B (MN35-13)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
4. ^ a b "Moroccan Image Reconnaissance Satellite Sent into Orbit by European Vega Rocket – Vega VV11 | Spaceflight101". 8 November 2017. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
5. ^ a b c Clark, Stephen. "Moroccan spy satellite launched aboard Vega rocket – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved 2021-12-08.
6. ^ a b "Mohammed VI A, B (MN35-13)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2021-12-08.

* v
* t
* e

← 2016

Orbital launches in 2017

2018 →

January|

* TJS-2
* Jilin-1 Video-03
* Iridium NEXT × 10
* TRICOM-1
* USA-273 / SBIRS GEO-3
* DSN-2
* Hispasat AG1

February|

* Intelsat 32e / SkyBrasil1 , Telkom-3S
* Cartosat-2D, Al Farabi-1, BGUSAT, DIDO-2, Flock-3p × 88, Lemur-2 × 8
* Dragon CRS-10
* Progress MS-05

March|

* USA-274 / Intruder 8
* Tiankun-1
* Sentinel-2B
* EchoStar 23
* IGS-Radar 5
* USA-275 / WGS-9
* SES-10

April|

* Shijian 13
* Cygnus CRS OA-7 , (ALTAIR , CXBN-2 , IceCube , SG-Sat , SHARC)
* Soyuz MS-04
* Tianzhou 1, SilkRoad-1

May|

* USA-276 / NROL-76
* Koreasat 7, SGDC-1
* GSAT 9 / South Asia Satellite
* Inmarsat-5 F4
* SES-15
* "It's a Test"
* EKS-2

June|

* QZS-2
* ViaSat-2, Eutelsat 172B
* Dragon CRS-11 (NICER, BRAC Onnesha, GhanaSat-1, Mazaalai, Nigeria EduSat-1)
* GSAT-19
* EchoStar 21
* Progress MS-06
* HXMT / Insight, ÑuSat 3
* ChinaSat 9A
* Cartosat-2E, Max Valier Sat, Aalto-1, Blue Diamond, Green Diamond, Red Diamond, CICERO-6, COMPASS-2, InflateSail, Lemur-2 × 8, LituanicaSAT-2, ROBUSTA-1B
* Kosmos 2519 / Nivelir, Kosmos 2521 / Sputnik Inspektor
* BulgariaSat-1
* Iridium NEXT × 10
* EuropaSat / Hellas Sat 3, GSAT-17

July|

* Shijian-18†
* Intelsat 35e
* Kanopus-V-IK, Flying Laptop, Flock-2k × 48, Landmapper BC 1, Landmapper BC 2, Lemur-2 × 8
* Soyuz MS-05

August|

* OPTSAT-3000, VENµS
* Dragon CRS-12, ASTERIA
* Blagovest 11L
* TDRS-M
* Michibiki 3
* Formosat-5
* ORS-5
* IRNSS-1H

September|

* USA-277 / OTV-5
* Amazonas 5
* Soyuz MS-06
* Kosmos 2522 / GLONASS-M 752
* USA-278 / NROL-42
* AsiaSat 9
* Yaogan-30-01 × 3
* Intelsat 37e, BSAT-4a

October|

* VRSS-2
* Iridium NEXT × 10
* QZS-4
* SES-11 / EchoStar 105
* Sentinel-5 Precursor
* Progress MS-07
* USA-279 / Quasar 21
* Koreasat 5A
* SkySat × 6 , Flock-3m × 4

November|

* BeiDou-3 M1, BeiDou-3 M2
* Mohammed VI-A
* Cygnus CRS OA-8E (Asgardia-1, EcAMSat, Lemur-2 × 8, TechEdSat-6)
* Fengyun-3D
* NOAA-20
* Jilin-1 Video × 3
* Yaogan-30-02 (3 satellites)
* Meteor-M No.2-1, Landmapper BC 3, Lemur-2 × 10

December|

* Kosmos 2524
* LKW-1
* Alcomsat-1
* Galileo FOC 15-18
* Dragon CRS-13
* Soyuz MS-07
* GCOM-C, SLATS
* Iridium NEXT 31–40
* Yaogan-30-03 × 3
* AngoSat 1

Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ).
Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).

* v
* t
* e

← 2017

Orbital launches in 2018

2019 →

January|

* USA-280 / Zuma
* BeiDou-3 M7, BeiDou-3 M8
* Cartosat-2F, ICEYE-X1, Microsat-TD, Arkyd-6A, Carbonite-2, Flock-3p' × 4, Fox-1D, Landmapper BC 3 v2, Lemur-2 × 4, PicSat, SpaceBEE × 4
* USA-281 / Topaz-5
* Jilin-1 Video-07, Jilin-1 Video-08, Kepler 0 KIPP
* USA-282 / SBIRS-GEO-4
* Humanity Star, Dove Pioneer, Lemur-2 × 2
* Yaogan 30-04 (3 satellites)
* SES-14, Al Yah 3
* GovSat-1 / SES-16

February|

* Kanopus-V No. 3, No. 4, S-Net × 4 , Lemur-2 × 4
* CSES, ÑuSat 4, 5
* TRICOM-1R
* Falcon Heavy test flight (Tesla Roadster)
* BeiDou-3 M3, M4
* Progress MS-08
* Paz, Tintin A & B
* IGS-Optical 6

March|

* GOES-17
* Hispasat 30W-6
* O3b × 4 (FM13 to FM16)
* Soyuz MS-08
* GSAT-6A
* EMKA / Kosmos 2525
* BeiDou-3 M9, M10
* Iridium NEXT 41–50
* Gaofen-1-02, 03, 04

April|

* Dragon CRS-14, 1KUNS-PF, Irazú, UBAKUSAT
* Superbird-B3, HYLAS-4
* Yaogan 31A, 31B, 31C, Weina 1B
* IRNSS-1I
* AFSPC-11, EAGLE
* Blagovest-12L / Kosmos 2526
* TESS
* Sentinel-3B
* Zhuhai-1 × 5

May|

* Apstar 6C
* InSight, MarCO A, MarCO B
* Gaofen 5
* Bangabandhu-1
* Chang'e 4 Relay, Longjiang 1, Longjiang 2
* Cygnus CRS OA-9E (EnduroSat One, EQUiSat, Lemur-2 × 4, RaInCube)
* Iridium NEXT 51–55, GRACE-FO 1, GRACE-FO 2

June|

* Gaofen-6
* SES-12
* Fengyun-2H
* Soyuz MS-09
* IGS-Radar 6
* GLONASS-M 756 / Kosmos 2527
* XJSS A, B
* Dragon CRS-15 (Biarri-Squad × 3, BHUTAN-1, Maya-1, UiTMSAT-1)

July|

* PRSS-1, PakTES-1A
* BeiDou IGSO-7
* Progress MS-09
* Telstar 19V
* Galileo FOC 19–22
* Iridium NEXT 56–65
* BeiDou-3 M5, M6
* Gaofen 11

August|

* Telkom-4 / Merah Putih
* Parker Solar Probe
* ADM-Aeolus
* BeiDou-3 M11, BeiDou-3 M12

September|

* HY-1C
* Telstar 18V
* ICESat-2 — SSTL S1-4, NovaSAR-1
* BeiDou-3 M13, M14
* Kounotori 7
* Azerspace-2 / Intelsat 38, Horizons-3e
* CentiSpace-1-S1

October|

* SAOCOM 1A
* Yaogan 32A, 32B
* Soyuz MS-10
* BeiDou-3 M15, M16
* AEHF-4
* BepiColombo
* HY 2B
* Lotos-S1 No. 3 / Kosmos 2528
* Weilai-1
* CFOSAT
* GOSAT-2, KhalifaSat, Diwata-2B, Stars-AO, AUTcube2

November|

* BeiDou-3 G1Q
* Kosmos 2529 / GLONASS-M 757
* MetOp-C
* IRVINE01, Lemur-2 × 2
* GSAT-29
* Es'hail 2
* Progress MS-10
* Cygnus NG-10
* BeiDou-3 M17, BeiDou-3 M18
* Shiyan 6-01
* Mohammed VI-B
* HySIS, Blacksky Global 1, FACSAT-1, Flock-3r × 16, Kepler 1 CASE, Lemur-2 × 4
* Kosmos 2530 / Strela-3M 16, Kosmos 2531 / Strela-3M 17, Kosmos 2532 / Strela-3M 18

December|

* Soyuz MS-11
* SHERPA, Blacksky Global 2, Capella 1, ESEO, Eu:CROPIS, FalconSAT 6, ICEYE X2, SkySat 14, SkySat 15, STPSat 5, ENOCH, Flock-3s × 3, IRVINE02, Landmapper BC 4, MinXSS-2, Orbital Reflector, PW-Sat 2, SpaceBEE × 3
* GSAT-11, Chollian-2A
* SpaceX CRS-16 (TechEdSat 8, UNITE)
* Chang'e 4 (Yutu-2)
* CubeSail, RSat-P, STF-1
* GSAT-7A
* CSO-1
* Kosmos 2533 / Blagovest-13L
* USA-289 / GPS IIIA-01
* Kanopus-V No. 5, No. 6, Flock-3k × 12, Lemur-2 × 8, Lume-1
* Yunhai-2 01 (6 satellites)

Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ).
Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
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