Orbit The two satellites operate in the same phased orbit and are offset at 180° to offer a daily revisit capability over any point on the globe. The Pléiades also share the same orbital plane as the
SPOT 6 and 7, forming a larger constellation with 4 satellites, 90° apart from one another.
Ground receiving stations When satellite operations begin, four ground receiving stations will be deployed for the direct downlink and archiving of imagery data: • Two defence centres in France and Spain • Two civil stations: one in
Toulouse (France) and a polar station in
Kiruna (
Sweden), which receives most of the data Regional receiving stations (fixed or mobile) are subsequently installed at the request of users.
Uplink Stations The Pléiades tasking plan are refreshed and uploaded three times per day, allowing for last minute requests and the ability to utilize up-to-the-minute weather forecasts. • The
Kerguelen Island station uploads the morning pass, over Europe,
Africa and the
Middle East. • The Swedish station takes care of midday orbits, over
North and South Americas. • The French station transmits the last tasking plan of the day over
Asia and
Oceania. == See also ==