Cerise (satellite)
| Company type | Military reconnaissance satellite |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace, Defense |
| Founded | July 7, 1995 |
| Headquarters | Kourou , French Guiana |
| Products | Reconnaissance satellite |
Cerise—meaning "cherry" in French—was a reconnaissance satellite developed by France for military purposes, specifically to capture HF radio transmissions to support French intelligence operations. The satellite had a mass of 50 kg and was deployed into orbit via an Ariane 4 launch vehicle from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana on 7 July 1995 at 17:23 UT. Its initial orbital parameters included a period of 98.1 minutes, an apogee altitude of 675 km, a perigee altitude of 666 km, and an orbital inclination of 98.0°.
On 24 July 1996, Cerise experienced a collision with debris originating from an Ariane 1 rocket that had previously launched the SPOT 1 mission. This debris occupied a similar orbital plane with an inclination of 98.14° but was traveling in the opposite direction, leading to several close encounters before the impact occurred above the Indian Ocean. The relative speed at collision reached approximately 14.8 km/s, which is nearly twice the typical orbital velocity of each object involved. This event marked the first verified accidental impact between two man-made satellites.
The collision resulted in the detachment of a 2.8–2.9 meter segment from Cerise’s gravity-gradient stabilization boom, inflicting substantial damage and causing the satellite to tumble uncontrollably with impaired attitude management. To counteract this, advanced magnetic control techniques were implemented to regain stability, ultimately restoring close to full operational functionality despite the harm sustained.
Following the incident, the Naval Space Operations Center observed slight changes in the trajectory of the Ariane rocket debris involved in the collision.