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February 2001
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ImageSat International Cancels Plans for EROS A2
Tel Aviv, Israel, ImageSat International (ISI) has decided to forgo production and launch of its planned Earth Remote Observation System (EROS) A2 imaging satellite, and proceed instead directly to the planned EROS B series, which will have higher resolution than the company's first satellite.
"We want to go directly to EROS B. It's a new satellite with a little better performance and a longer life span," Moshe Bar-Lev, President of ImageSat International (ISI), said. The company's first satellite, EROS A1, was launched on Dec. 5 and has a resolution of 6 feet to 2.7 feet (1.8 meters to 0.82 meters), which means objects that size and larger can be identified in the images.Bar-Lev said ISI's board of directors, which is scheduled to meet at the end of February, still must approve the decision to shift production to the B platform.
EROS B1 had been planned for launch in the second quarter of 2002. The new EROS B1 satellite will take about two years to ready for launch, Bar-Lev said. Although production and subcontracting work has already begun on the planned EROS A2, Bar-Lev said the decision would not disrupt production plans because of the high degree of commonality between the two satellites. He conceded, however, that EROS B would involve a higher degree of risk, but only with regard to integration. "Many of the subsystems are common, and there are no technology breakthroughs. So the risk will be in integrating a new system, and we're confident we are up to the task," Bar-Lev said.
El-Op Electro-Optics Industries Ltd. of Rehovot, Israel, producer of the EROS A1 sensor, will also provide the camera for the EROS B series of satellites. The B series camera is designed to carry, in its focal plane, a device that enables synchronous imaging of Earth even under weak lighting conditions. Resolution is expected to be 2.7 feet (0.82 meters).
Altogether, ISI plans a constellation of eight high-resolution imaging satellites. The Cyprus-based company has contracted with Puscovie Uslugi of Moscow for the first three launches, about a Start 1 rocket.
Web site: http://www.imagesatintl.com/
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