France Launches First Missile Tracking Satellites

France launched their first missile tracking satellites into orbit Feb. 13 designed to watch and warn of enemy ballistic missile attacks. Known as early warning satellites, the two spacecraft will monitor Earth and space with infrared telescopes and be on the lookout for missile launches.

The two spacecraft, named SPIRALE (French acronym for "preliminary infrared warning system), were launched from Kourou, French Guiana, South America, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. The satellites separated from the rocket about 30 minutes after lift-off.

This is only a demonstration mission for SPIRALE to prove the system will work. The program started around 2004 and is managed by the French Armament Procurement Agency (DGA), part of the Ministry of Defense. One of the issues with early warning systems is false alarms. U.S. and Russian missile tracking satellites sometimes have problems with the Sun reflecting off a lake or a mountain and confuse the event with a missile launch.

This demonstration phase is an essential step in developing a future operational early warning system. It will pave the way for a future ballistic missile warning system, designed to monitor the proliferation of ballistic missiles, determine the origin of launches, and provide early warning of launches. It is based on the principle of detection of the heat, or infrared, signal given off by a missile's motor during its propulsion phase.

After a few orbit adjustments following launch, the two satellites will be moved into an "operational orbit" that will range between 372 miles (600 kilometers) and 22,370 miles (36,000 km) high, known as high elliptical orbits, or HEO.

The system was designed and built by EADS Astruim of the U.K. and Thales Alenia Space of Italy. The SPIRALE mission control center is located in Toulouse, France, and will be operated by Astrium on behalf of the DGA during the operational phase.

Their small size puts them in what is called the "microsatellite" category. The cube-shaped microsatellites are 35 inches (90 centimeters) high and weigh 264 pounds (120 kilograms) each.

France is only the third country to launch a missile warning system into space. The United States started launching early warning satellites in 1960 with Russia following in 1972.

The SPIRALE mission was the first launch this year for the Ariane 5 rocket. The launcher is built by a group of European companies with launch services coordinated by Arianespace of France. This was the 43rd Ariane 5 launch, 29th success in a row.