A SAR Earth observation system can collect high-resolution data day or night regardless of weather conditions or cloud cover, making it useful for persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) across civil and military applications.

The DESIR demonstrator is expected to enter service in early 2029.

The DGA’s International Defence Companies Notebook 2026, published in December 2025, lists DESIR as having been entrusted to Loft Orbital in June 2025.

The DESIR project has a total budget of €50 million.

Industrial work on the DESIR project was expected to begin in 2025.

Loft Orbital is the prime contractor for the DESIR project and is responsible for the satellite and the ground control segment.

DESIR is led by CNES on behalf of France’s defence procurement and technology agency, the DGA.

The DESIR initiative is an acronym for Démonstrateur des Éléments Souverains en Imagerie Radar and Demonstrator of Sovereign Radar Imaging Elements.

CNES awarded a contract to a consortium led by Loft Orbital to develop a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery demonstrator.

TEKEVER France will develop the active antenna integrated into the DESIR imager.

Amazon Leo’s first Ariane 6 mission is currently slated for February 12.

Canopée will tour several European ports to load Ariane 6 stages and components before heading to French Guiana for the launch campaign.

Thirty-two satellites are slated to ride to low Earth orbit on an upcoming Ariane 6 launch for Amazon Leo.

Arianespace will offload Ariane 6 at port, bring it to Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and integrate Amazon Leo payloads with the launch vehicle.

The Oxford Economics report estimates Amazon Leo’s launch partnerships in France will support a cumulative €1.38 billion contribution to GDP and sustain an average of 1,590 jobs through 2029.

Each Amazon Leo satellite is built at Amazon’s manufacturing facility in Kirkland, Washington and shipped to a processing facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida before traveling to Arianespace launch facilities in French Guiana.

The Arianespace hybrid industrial cargo ship Canopée departed from Bordeaux, France earlier this month transporting Ariane 6 rocket components for Amazon Leo’s first mission.

Amazon has invested more than €30 billion since 2010 and created 25,000 permanent jobs.

The Amazon–Arianespace agreement includes multiple launches on the next-generation Ariane 6 rocket.

The upcoming Ariane 6 heavy-lift launch is the first heavy-lift launch on Amazon Leo’s 2026 manifest.

The Oceanwings system on Canopée can reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by up to 35% in optimal sailing conditions.

Canopée is a 397-foot (121-meter) purpose-built ship designed to transport Ariane 6 components.

An Oxford Economics report estimates Amazon Leo’s activities will contribute €2.8 billion to EU GDP between 2022 and 2029 and support an average of 3,270 jobs annually across the region.

The mission designated LE-01 is the first of 18 planned launches with Arianespace for Amazon Leo.

Canopée features a hybrid propulsion system that combines traditional engines with four articulated wing sails rising 121 feet (37 meters) above the deck.

The LE-01 mission will add 32 satellites to the Amazon Leo constellation.

Amazon has deployed more than 150 satellites to date.

CNES awarded a contract to a consortium led by Loft Orbital to develop the DESIR (Démonstrateur des Éléments Souverains en Imagerie Radar) synthetic aperture radar imagery demonstrator.

DESIR is designed to ensure that critical intellectual property and industrial building blocks remain under French national control.

The DESIR program is being conducted on behalf of the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) to foster a sovereign national radar imaging value chain for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications.

Successful validation of the DESIR demonstrator may lead to a broader constellation of radar satellites as part of France’s defense space roadmap.

TEKEVER previously secured its first contract with CNES to enhance inter-satellite communications.

Hervé Derrey is the CEO of Thales Alenia Space.

Loft Orbital is the consortium lead and is responsible for the satellite bus and the ground control segment for the DESIR mission.

The DESIR mission will leverage Loft Orbital’s experience in hosting commercial and government payloads for rapid orbital deployment.

The DESIR project is valued at approximately €50 million.

The DESIR mission will enter an operational phase lasting at least two years following launch.

The DESIR demonstrator is expected to enter service in early 2029.

The DESIR mission is intended to provide domestic synthetic aperture radar capabilities to complement France’s existing optical Earth observation assets with all-weather, day-and-night monitoring.

The Artemis II launch date decision will depend on the completion of system verifications.

NASA will schedule the Artemis II launch only when all operational conditions are deemed satisfactory.

Opening of Artemis II launch windows does not automatically initiate a launch attempt.

Launch opportunities for Artemis II open on February 6, 2026.

NASA will not decide the Artemis II launch date until system checks are complete.

NASA teams are evaluating the rocket, spacecraft, ground systems, and crew in parallel for Artemis II.

Artemis II is the first crewed flight of the Artemis program.

NASA issued an update on January 21, 2026 on X regarding the Artemis II launch decision process.

NASA is conducting an integrated assessment of components involved in the Artemis II mission to confirm overall system readiness.

NASA did not provide details on the individual system checks for Artemis II.

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