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Since the end of 1970s, EADS-SODERN has developed a series of detection units positioned in the focal plane of earth observation instruments and mounted on the French civil and military satellites like SPOT and HELIOS. Those detection units, designed for a push broom operating mode, have been progressively adapted to match the technical evolutions of the programmes.With PLEIADES High Resolution optical satellite CNES is proposing a completely new concept which has the capability to acquire the wide-swath of 20 km at nadir with panchromatic and multispectral imagery and a panchromatic mode resolution of 0.7 m at nadir. Within the industrial structure of this new programme, EADS SODERN is responsible for the development of the Focal Plane Assembly (FPA). This FPA, which is one of the most significant parts performing the imaging function, offers a wide variety of new technologies. This paper describes the design and performance budgets of this new FPA:o The mechanical support and thermal control with the Silicon Carbide (SiC) structure allows evacuating the detectors dissipation while maintaining stable the detection lines. o The folding mirrors are used to achieve the required limitation of panchromatic / multispectral distance with the constraint of detectors package size. o The spectral selection is made by strip filters place very close in front of the detectors.

In many spatial systems, image is a core technology to fulfil the mission requirements. Depending on the application, the needs and the constraints are different and imaging systems can offer a large variety of configurations in terms of wavelength, resolution, field-of-view, focal length or sensitivity. Adequate image processing algorithms allow the extraction of the needed information and the interpretation of images. As a prime contractor for many major civil or military projects, Astrium ST is very involved in the proposition, development and realization of new image-based techniques and systems for space-related purposes. Among the different applications, space surveillance is a major stake for the future of space transportation. Indeed, studies show that the number of debris in orbit is exponentially growing and the already existing population of small and medium debris is a concrete threat to operational satellites. This paper presents Astrium ST activities regarding space surveillance for space situational awareness (SSA) and space traffic management (STM). Among other possible SSA architectures, the relevance of a ground-based optical station network is investigated. The objective is to detect and track space debris and maintain an exhaustive and accurate catalogue up-to-date in order to assess collision risk for satellites and space vehicles. The system is composed of different type of optical stations dedicated to specific functions (survey, passive tracking, active tracking), distributed around the globe. To support these investigations, two in-house operational breadboards were implemented and are operated for survey and tracking purposes. This paper focuses on Astrium ST end-to-end optical-based survey concept. For the detection of new debris, a network of wide field of view survey stations is considered: those stations are able to detect small objects and associated image processing (detection and tracking) allow a preliminary restitution of their orbit. Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/24/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx Proc. of SPIE Vol. 8186 81860F-7 Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/24/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx

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