During the 2024 GeoINT Symposium in Orlando, Airbus unveiled its ambitious initiative, the Pléiades Neo Next program, aiming to expand and enhance its high-resolution Earth observation satellite constellation.
The announcement sets the stage for the future of global satellite imagery services. Nicolas Jaunard, Head of Marketing Geospatial Products & Services at Airbus, provided detailed insights into the new program during an interview at the event. The Pléiades Neo Next initiative seeks to build on the success of Airbus’s current Pléiades Neo constellation, with a focus on significantly improved resolution, targeting a broad range of applications from defense and intelligence to commercial uses.
An image captured by Pléiades Neo shows 30cm resolution over the Twickenham stadium and surrounding area in London. Pléiades Neo © Airbus DS 2024
Airbus plans to launch the first satellite of this next-generation constellation in the upcoming years, promising advancements that will outpace the existing capabilities. Jaunard pointed out the commitment to maintaining the best resolution available in the market, which currently stands at 30cm optical resolution. He noted that with Pléiades Neo Next, these specifications will be enhanced even further, though specifics about the new resolution levels were not revealed during the interview.
