(Image source: CNES)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR CHRISTY LEWIS

A crowded Russian-built rocket took off Friday, carrying an eagle-eyed payload. Fox News has the story.

“The Soyuz rocket taking off from the European Space Agency’s launch center in French Guiana. It’s carrying a payload of six satellites, the first five of them being used by France to collect military intelligence. The other satellite designed to monitor agriculture in Chile.”

The biggest of the satellites is the French Pleiades-1, an Earth-observation satellite loaded with cutting-edge optical equipment. The project is partially funded by Belgium, Sweden, Spain and Austria, and its images will be used for both military and civilian purposes.

The BBC gives us some details on the high-tech eye in the sky.

“The 970kg satellite is the result of a near-decade-long programme in the French space agency to develop one of the most powerful Earth observation systems in the world. … Pleiades carries gyroscopes that allow it to swivel its telescope in quick time, enabling it to acquire a strip, or mosaic, of images around its target in a single pass overhead.”

A second satellite, Pleiades-2, is scheduled to be launched next year.

Each satellite will be able to resolve objects as small as 20 inches, putting them on par with leading U.S. imaging companies. (Image source: CNES)

But the real strength of the Pleiades will come when both satellites are in orbit. They will be positioned on opposite sides of the globe, allowing them to image the same area multiple times per day. Officials say this will provide valuable information during crisis situations. (Video source: CNES)

The launch of the Soyuz is the 1,781st flight since the launchers were put in use, but only the second time one has launched from a Western launchpad.

“They are very much the same rocket. In fact, the Soyuz rocket was the rocket, essentially, that launched Sputnik 1. So it goes all the way back to 1957. … There’s lots of alternatives, there’s something like 26 launchers operational at the moment. It’s just that Sergei Korolev did a very good job on the first rocket, and it’s still a very valuable launch system.” (Video source: RT)

The other four French satellites will test a new technology for detecting radar installations.