Ambition
2020
2015, space for the climate
2015, space for the climate
Following a year of great achievements and important decisions in 2014,
our Space policy in 2015 will hinge on climate-related challenges.
The first reason is that several scientific and technological programmes
we have been working on for years will begin to bear fruit. This is true
for the Jason 3 satellite, to be launched next summer and which will
continue the investigation of the oceans, begun with Topex-Poseidon
in 1992 and later pursued by Jason 1 and 2.
Secondly because several projects, each of them innovative in its own
right, are currently being developed. Swot will enable us to learn more
about the global dynamics of terrestrial surface waters, IASI NG will
further improve weather forecasting and Merlin will study methane and
its impact on the greenhouse effect.
Finally, because France will be hosting the COP 21 Conference in Paris
in December, an event that will bring together all those concerned by
climate change. Space will naturally be a constant topic of discussion,
given its vital contribution to knowledge of our planet and especially of
its evolution.
In 2015 the overriding objective will thus be to bring global warming
under control. Success is imperative because as the UN Secretary
General said quite rightly, we cannot fail ”because there is no plan B
since there is no planet B”. This is why CNES will be making Space
available for the climate in 2015.
“Our Space policy in 2015
will hinge on climate-related
challenges.”
Jean-Yves Le Gall
CNES President
January 2015
View of the comet Churyamov-Gerasimenko
recorded by the OSIRIS instrument on the
Rosetta probe
Philae lander
The future Ariane 6 launcher
Stratospheric ballon in Timmins, Canada
Star nursery seen by Herschel
Space,
a French ambition
People have always wanted to know what lies beyond the horizon.
Raising their eyes to the stars, they set off to conquer space.
As early as the 1960s, France made space a strategic priority, and
a key factor of sovereignty. Fifty years later, space has become
crucial in the daily life of citizens and the workings of governments.
It is also a driving force behind the economy and job creation.
Space is a universe in itself, an infinite source of dreams and
discoveries. For France, space has been, is, and will always be an
ambition.
Integration of Jason 3 at Thales Alenia Space
Milestones that have marked French space activities include:
CNES,
an undisputed
benchmark
•
1961: Foundation of CNES with the remit to shape and direct
French space policy.
• 1965: France becomes the third space power with the launch by
Diamant of the Astérix satellite.
• 1979: Ariane’s maiden launch from the Guiana Space Center. Its
success lays the foundation for the French and European space
industry.
• 1986: Earth observation for strategic and commercial purposes
• 1995: Military authorities can anticipate crisis situations and
With its many talents, CNES plays a key role on the French,
European and international space stage, lending impetus, stimulating new proposals and providing technical expertise.
• 2006: Science leaps forward with Corot, which discovers nume-
While some programs remain within national boundaries, many
could only see the light of day thanks to international partnerships.
• 2014: The planet is enthralled by Philae’s historic encounter with
CNES therefore represents France on the European Space Agency’s
Council, which can initiate ambitious space missions, especially
science missions, by pooling resources.
becomes a reality with the launch of the first Spot satellite.
support operational missions through the Hélios program.
rous planets outside the solar system.
its comet while, on France’s initiative, Europe decides to go ahead
with Ariane 6.
CNES defends French interests within international bodies and
helps promote our science and technology.
At the crossroads of research and industry, CNES supports the
French space industry, whether large contractors or small companies
seeking to export. At any given time, there are around 40 projects
being examined or implemented, involving satellites, launchers,
complete systems or subsystems.
CNES is also a major shareholder in several commercial companies,
thus providing State support for strategic activities.
4
Pleiades
Taranis
Merlin
Jupiter room at the Guiana Space Center
Ariane 5 ECA lifts off from the
Guiana Space Center for flight
VA218 on 11 September 2014
Four centers
of excellence
CNES employs some 2,500 men and women with a passion for
space and its infinite innovative applications for society.
The Midi-Pyrénées region has hosted CNES since 1968. The Toulouse
Space Center (CST) is the agency’s biggest technical and operational center. Its engineers research, design, develop, implement,
orbit, control and operate orbital systems.
Paris Daumesnil is home to the Launch Vehicles Directorate (DLA),
which has been designing Ariane launchers for over 40 years.
Its specialists are working tirelessly to secure the future of the
European launcher within a joint team composed of CNES and
European Space Agency personnel.
In French Guiana, the Guiana Space Center (CSG) is in charge
of launching all European launchers. Ideally located near the equator,
Europe’s spaceport is a major asset for the European space program.
Finally, Paris Les Halles hosts CNES headquarters, responsible for
mapping out French and European space policy and conducting
CNES programs, whether national, European or international.
Five strategic
focuses
The Science Operation and Navigation Center (SONC),
located at CNES in Toulouse
broadband telecommunications, positioning, environmental data
collection or search and rescue.
• Defense: very-high-resolution optical observation, electronic
intelligence, ultra-secure telecommunications and space situational
awareness all help to assure citizens’ peace and security.
Second space
budget in the
world
With slightly more than €30 per capita per year, France’s civil space
budget comes second only to the United States (€46), ahead of
Germany (€16) and the United Kingdom (€6).
In 2014, CNES’s government-allotted budget of €1,982 million was
allocated as follows:
CNES activities focus on five strategic areas covering all the expertise
needed to conceive and implement French space policy:
•
Ariane: independent access to space is an issue of national
sovereignty, guaranteed by the full range of European launch vehicles.
•
Sciences: space exploration seeks answers to the basic questions of humankind on the origins of the solar system, galaxies
and life itself.
•
Observation: our planet is under constant scrutiny by satellites
that observe it, study its atmosphere and provide crucial meteorological, oceanographic and altimetry data.
• Telecommunications: satellites play a vital role in such areas as
• Contribution to the European Space Agency: €763 million
• National program: €594 million
• Program for Investment in the Future: €300 million
• Own resources: €325 million
In 2015, CNES will have budget of €2,126 million:
• Contribution to the European Space Agency: €827 million
• National program: €734 million
• Program for Investment in the Future: €202 million
• Own resources: €363million
This budget testifies not only to the high priority given to space by
French authorities but also the remarkable efficiency of CNES,
whose programs guarantee the highest possible return on
investments.
Satellite Gaia illustration
6
Sentinel 2A satellite from the Copernicus program
undergoing testing at the IABG in Munich
Pilot in the clean room at the Toulouse Space Center
The futuristic concurrent engineering room at DLA
The Gaia high-density computer storage bay
CNES
and Europe
Since 1975, the European Space Agency has been conducting European space policy on behalf of its member states. With 20 member
states and 2,200 employees, its leading contributor is France,
represented by CNES, which guarantees Europe’s independent
access to space and helps prepare new-generation space systems
and develop international cooperation.
Since the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007, space policy has become one
of the responsibilities of the European Union, which develops
programs meeting Europe’s institutional and commercial needs.
The main two ongoing programs are Galileo for satellite positioning
and Copernicus for environmental studies. CNES is participating
in both, alongside the European Commission and the European
Space Agency.
ESA ministerial council meeting, Tuesday 2 December 2014 in Luxembourg
Moreover, CNES maintains an ongoing dialogue with most of the
other space powers on the planet (Brazil, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Thailand, etc.) for the benefit of the entire French and
European space community.
International
partnerships
CNES
and employment
CNES also leads numerous projects with international partners outside Europe. Partnerships reduce the cost per participant, making it
possible to initiate major projects together, capitalize on France’s
scientific and industrial expertise, and acquire new skills.
By inventing tomorrow’s space systems, CNES is stimulating technological innovation, economic development and France’s industrial
policy. CNES drives innovation to boost employment, 80%
of CNES’s budget returning to French industry.
Partnerships have led to many successes in the past. Today, numerous programs are underway with most of the world’s space powers:
In mainland France, the space sector generates 16,000 jobs,
the French space industry representing 40% of Europe’s space
industry. The Guiana Space Center provides 1,700 direct jobs but
generates five times more indirectly, accounting for 15% of all
employment in French Guiana.
•
United States: oceanography (Jason 3, Swot), search-andrescue (Cospas-Sarsat), Mars exploration (Curiosity, InSight Mars
2020);
• China: oceanography (CFOSat), astrophysics (Svom), space
medicine (Cardiospace);
• India: atmospheric research (Megha-Tropiques), altimetry
With €20 of economic spin-offs for every €1 invested, the commercial space sector leverages industry, the economy, research,
society and public policies, making CNES a key player in economic
diplomacy.
(Saral-AltiKa);
• Russia: launch system (Soyuz in Guiana), research and technology;
• Japan: research and technology, preparation of the future.
8
Swot
French Instrument Mars Operation Center (FIMOC),
Toulouse
Soyuz at the Guiana Space Center
Svom
A PPS®1350-G electric thruster
developed by SNECMA (Safran)
under a CNES contract
Ambition 2020
After the historic successes chalked up in 2014, 2015 and the
coming years will be crucial for French and European space policy.
CNES is therefore constantly adapting its roadmap, dubbed Ambition 2020, to develop its capacity for innovation and ensure France
remains one of the leading space powers.
Supported by an ambitious, determined French space policy with
a successful track record, the advantages of a budget that gives it
the means to achieve its ambitions and by the dynamism of its
experienced, enthusiastic employees, CNES will continue to invest
in its five strategic areas of interest.
SEIS, the instrument on the InSight mission to probe the core of Mars
Ariane
CNES is continuing to operate European launch vehicles for large
or small payloads, scientific research, Earth observation, telecommunications and defense. CNES also positions the satellites which
it then operates.
At the same time, Europe is reinventing Ariane through the
Ariane 6 program. This new launcher, designed by teams at CNES,
the European Space Agency and in the space industry, will be more
suitable for government and commercial satellite launches thanks
to its two versions, Ariane 62 and Ariane 64, its upper stage
re-ignition capability and reduced operating costs. The historic
decision to develop it, made by Europe in Luxembourg, should
enable its maiden launch to take place in 2020.
Sciences
2014 will obviously be remembered as the year that saw the global triumph of Rosetta and the successful landing of Philae on the
comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. With the data collected, a major
breakthrough is expected in our knowledge of the origins of life.
Just as spectacular are the results from observations by the
Planck satellite, a mission in which the French scientific community played a leading role, and the success of Curiosity, the Mars
rover carrying the CNES-developed ChemCam and SAM instruments. CNES was also responsible for developing the InSight
seismometer. A little later, French scientists will be kept busy on
the ExoMars and Mars 2020 programs.
Cosmic Vision: Juice Mission
10
Planck reveals the magnetic fingerprint of our Galaxy
The MSL Curiosity rover on Mars
The accelerometers for Microscope, at the TSC
ExoMars mission
Lift-off the future Ariane 6
launcher, version 64
In other fields, Microscope will be the first attempt to use a satellite to test the equivalence principle in the theory of general relativity, while Taranis will be studying X and gamma rays. CNES is
strongly committed to Euclid, a mission scheduled for 2020 to
determine the origin of the expansion of the Universe and the
nature of mysterious dark energy. In 2022, the Juice probe will
leave on its eight-year journey to Jupiter.
Finally, to meet the needs of scientific users, CNES designs, develops and operates aerostat systems. Balloon campaigns are used
for various purposes, ranging from measuring industrial pollution
to studying the water cycle—alternating between drought and
torrential rain—in the Mediterranean region.
MetOp-B under the Soyuz launcher fairing
Observation
Since 2013, Saral-AltiKa joined ocean surveyors Jason 1 and 2. Its
high-resolution Ka-band radar altimeter is an innovation in satellite
altimetry. MetOp-B, flying the IASI interferometer, has already
improved weather forecasts out to 72 hours, while Swarm is mapping the Earth’s magnetic field.
IASI will be followed by IASI-NG aboard the MetOp SG (second-generation) satellites. Then around 2017 it will be the turn of Merlin,
a joint mission developed by CNES and Germany’s DLR to study
greenhouse gases and methane. In 2020, Swot will begin investigating freshwater resources, a source of life on Earth.
Telecommunications
CNES will continue to deploy and position Europe’s satellite navigation system, Galileo. When completed, this constellation will give
Europe real independence in satellite-based navigation. Argos
instruments are also playing a vital role in locating people in
distress. Argos 3, to be flown on Saral-AltiKa, is already operational and Argos 4 under development.
Defense
The two Pleiades satellites continue to provide high-resolution
satellite images to an accuracy of within one meter. Pleiades was
designed as a dual-use military and civil Earth observation system.
Defense needs take priority, but civilians also benefit from this very
accurate source of information for civil protection, mapping and
precision farming, for example.
This dual-use nature also characterizes the Athena-Fidus telecommunications system which will complement the capacities of the
Syracuse satellites and provide broadband services for the armed
forces and emergency relief teams. The Syracuse system will then
be replaced by Comsat-NG, currently in the design phase.
The future Musis observation system, which includes the CSO
optical segment, will focus on specific targets with a high degree
of precision. The first satellite is to be launched in 2017. Finally,
the military space sector’s electronic intelligence program is leading into the operational CERES program.
New telecommunications satellites offer innovative services, including broadband internet, high-definition television and increased
mobility. This explains why payloads are becoming more powerful,
heavier and more flexible.
For this reason, CNES is investing heavily in the development of
electrically-propelled satellites, and has teamed up with its European partners to develop Neosat, a new-generation electric satellite bus. At the same time, work continues on the fast-broadband
telecommunications satellite THD-SAT.
12
CESARS, the Center of expertise and support for
satellite-base telecommunications, at CNES Toulouse
Alphasat
THD Sat
Island of Bora-Bora seen by Pleiades
The Musis-C50, constellation
of Earth-observation satellites
CNES Centers
PARIS/Les Halles
CNES – Head Office
2, place Maurice Quentin
75039 Paris Cedex 01
Phone: +33 (0)1 44 76 75 00
PARIS/Daumesnil
CNES – Launch Vehicles Directorate
52, rue Jacques Hillairet
75612 Paris Cedex
Phone: +33 (0)1 80 97 71 11
TOULOUSE
CNES – Toulouse Space Center
18 avenue Edouard Belin
31401 Toulouse Cedex 9
Phone: +33 (0)5 61 27 31 31
FRENCH GUIANA
CNES – Guiana Space Center
BP 726
97387 Kourou Cedex
Phone: + 594 (0)5 94 33 51 11
Cover: Islands in French Polynesia seen by Pleiades, from left to right: part of the Tuamotu archipelago, Rapa Island, the Bora-Bora lagoon
January 2015 // Organizations: CNES, ESA, AIRBUS DEFENSE SPACE, NASA, JPL Caltech/MSSS CALTECH CNES/ESA/Arianespace/Activité
Optique Vidéo, Thales Alenia Space, ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM, Planck Collaboration, ESA/PACS/SPIRE, Master Image Films // Photographers:
Stéphane Corvaja, Pierre Jalby, Serge Henri, Sébastien Girard, Emmanuel Grimault, Hervé Piraud, Frédéric Maligne, Eric Lefeuvre, Fabrice
LECINA, Michel Régy, L. Mira, G. Guillon, Cédric Samson // Illustrators: David Ducros, Mira Productions Rémy Parot, Pierre Carril, Jacky Huart //
CNES editor-in-chief: Joëlle Brami // Copywriting: Françoise Couvry-Ventelon // Design and pre-press:
// Artwork:
Photothèque du CNES, Société Photon, Marie-Claire Fontebasso // Printing: Imprimerie Ménard. Translation: Coup de Puce. Published by the External
Communications, Education and Public Relations Directorate, Public Outreach Department.
www.cnes.fr