Digital rendering of Azersky in space. Photo: Azercosmos.

[Via Satellite 12-02-2014] Azercosmos, the national satellite operator of Azerbaijan, has entered a cooperative agreement with Airbus Defence and Space to operate and commercialize the Spot 7 optical Earth Observation (EO) satellite. As part of the agreement, Spot 7 will be renamed Azersky.

The Azersky satellite was launched on June 30 aboard the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO’s) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The spacecraft has a predicted lifespan of 12 years, and provides 1.5-meter imagery. More than 25 Azrbaijani professionals will train in France on various aspects of EO and Geo-Information services.

The Airbus Defence and Space-Azercosmos agreement also includes joint operation of Airbus Defence and Space’s Spot 6, and a ground segment to access images acquired from Pléiades 1A and 1B, 0.5-meter EO satellites. Together, Azersky and SPOT 6 cover equal to 6 million square kilometers per day at 1.5-meter resolution, reaching every point on the globe.