Airbus satellite launch to make Europe a leader in space observation RFI 30 Apr 2021, 04:16 GMT+10 Europe's Vega rocket blasted off from French Guiana on Wednesday carrying a next-generation Earth-imaging satellite that owner Airbus says will be an industry "game-changer". Pleiades Neo 3 is the first of a four-satellite constellation that, once complete, will offer the most advanced Earth observation service in Europe. With a resolution of 30 centimetres, the satellites will be used for large-scale city mapping and crop/agriculture monitoring - while also enabling responses to critical situations, such as natural disasters, in real time. Airbus has sunk 600 million euros into the Pleiades Neo network, which will allow Airbus to compete on equal terms with the world leader in space observation, the US company Maxar.