Azersky was an
Earth observation satellite
An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...
with a high-resolution
of 1.5 m. It was
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
's first Earth observation satellite. It was launched into orbit in June 2014.
The satellite was originally named
SPOT 7 and developed by
Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus SE. Formed in 2014 in the restructuring of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Airbus SE comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and divisions. Contributing 21% of Airbus reven ...
as a part of their
SPOT
Spot or SPOT may refer to:
Places
* Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States
* The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia
* South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse
People
* Spot Coll ...
series. SPOT 7 was successfully handed over to Azercosmos on December 2, 2014, and renamed as Azersky.
The satellite ceased operations in April 2023.
[
]
Details
The satellite had a predicted lifespan 12 years.
The wide application areas of Azersky satellite include defense, security, emergency situations, exploration of natural resources, maritime, environmental protection, urbanization, mapping, agriculture, tourism and others.
It had a resolution of 1.5 m for Panchromatic and 6 m for Multispectral.
It had 1 Panchromatic and 4 Multispectral bands (green, blue, red, near-infrared).
The image scene had a minimum 60X60 km and a maximum 60X600 km.
It orbits at an altitude of 694.9 km.
The revisit is 2 days (45°).
It is at an inclination of 98.2° (Sun-synchronous).
Launch and operation
The agreement between Azerbaijan and France was signed at the 20th Anniversary Azerbaijan International Telecommunications and Information Technologies Exhibition and Conference, Bakutel 2014 with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005.
The son and second child of former Aze ...
. By obtaining the first symbolic image from Azersky satellite, the President launched the commercial activity of the satellite. According to the agreement signed between the two parties, Azersky belonging to Azercosmos and SPOT 6 belonging to Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus SE. Formed in 2014 in the restructuring of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Airbus SE comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and divisions. Contributing 21% of Airbus reven ...
will be used in the form of satellite collection.
End of mission
In April 2023, communication with the satellite was lost.[https://www.intelligenceonline.fr/surveillance--interception/2025/06/12/la-mysterieuse-perte-d-un-satellite-d-airbus-vendu-a-l-azerbaidjan,110464398-eve]
See also
* Azerspace-1, Azerbaijan's first satellite (a telecommunications satellite)
* Azerspace-2, Azerbaijan's third satellite (a telecommunication satellite)
* Azercosmos, first and only satellite operator in South Caucasus region that operates Azerspace-1, Azerspace-2, and Azersky
References
{{reflist
Earth imaging satellites
Satellites of Azerbaijan