Munich - The first of two planned satellites for Germany's defence forces is to be launched late Thursday from near the South American city of Kourou, officials said Wednesday. The satellites, both weighing 2.5 tons and code-named "SatcomBw," will provide communications links to troops in Afghanistan and navy vessels in distant seas.
The German defence forces already operate sensors from space that can for example peer down through clouds and make radar images of the ground.
Germany's Aerospace Centre DLR near Munich said the first satellite would need a series of tests after its launch from Kourou, French Guiana, around midnight German time.
It is scheduled to go into operation in January. The other satellite is to be launched in March.
The military aims to end its reliance on commercial suppliers of satellite communications and also hopes to save money by providing its own telephone system and internet connections to bases.
At the end of last year, the German military commissioned its reconnaissance satellite system, codenamed SAR-Lupe.
The synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) system uses five satellites that bounce radar pulses off the earth.
