Hélios 1B & Clémentine

Clémentine is a small satellite built by Alcatel Space (now Thales) for the French DGA, ostensibly "to study the Earth's radio-electrical environment from space." It is a successor to the Cerise satellite.

The Hélios 1B was a French military photo-reconnaissance satellite in which Italy and Spain also participated. It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana on 3 December 1999 at 16:22:00 UTC. The spacecraft rode aboard an Ariane 4 rocket which also carried the French military reconnaissance satellite, Clémentine. Due to power supply failures, it had to be left to disintegrate in 2005. It has been replaced by Hélios 2A, launched on December 2004 on an Ariane 5 rocket.