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Bright future for Argos

Argos for Next Generations

For nearly 40 years, the international space agencies that manage the Argos system have been committed to technological advancements for the Argos system. Capitalizing on this long experience in state-of-the-art, innovative instrumentation, the French Space Agency, CNES, has invested in a new generation of Argos payloads, called Argos-4, that will fly on the satellites of its international partners starting in 2020.

The increased bandwidth of Argos-4 technology as well as the operational downlink will make it possible to send ever more data even more efficiently, improving performance for existing applications as well as opening the door for a host of new ones.

In parallel, CLS, with the support of the French Space Agency CNES, is working to develop a completely new generation of dedicated satellites, using nanosat technology. This constellation of 25 nanosatellites, called Kinéis, is planned to be operational in 2023.

argos4ng orbits

Kinéis aims to become a major player in NewSpace and allow, by 2030, several million objects to be connected wherever they are on the surface of the globe. Professionals and the general public will have access to a global satellite location and connectivity service, which is very easy to use and very affordable.

Main Features

icon satellite

25 operational
nano-satellites

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Shorter revisit time
(~15 minutes between satellite passes)

icon antenna

Low & high data rate transmissions depending on user needs

  • Continuity of service: low power, reliable & miniaturized transceivers
  • Two way capabilities, compatible with international frequency regulation,
  • Increased system capacity (8 times more bandwidth), enhanced new modulations & protocols

Timeline

  • New generation of satellite instrument Argos-4 will be launched in 2020 by ISRO on OceanSat-3
  • Argos-4 payload on US satellite CDARS in 2021
  • The European Agency for Meteorological Satellites, EUMETSAT, is committed to launching Argos payloads onboard European satellites until 2036
  • CNES is launching the Argos ANGELS project (Argos NEO Generic Economic Light Satellites), the first Argos instrument onboard a nanosat in October 2019
  • Kinéis, subsidiary of CLS will launch new connectivity based on 25 nanosatellites