Mohammed VI (satellites)

The Mohammed VI satellites are a series of two Moroccan Earth observation and reconnaissance satellites, namely Mohammed VI-A and Mohammed VI-B, developed and built by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space based upon the Astrosat-1000 satellite bus. They are Morocco's first optical imaging satellites, and are operated by Morocco's Ministry of Defense, with an expected service life of 5 years. They are named after Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco.

Satellite bus
Both satellites are based on the Astrosat-1000 satellite bus. They have a launch mass of 1110 kg and have three deployable solar arrays, and an expected service life of around 5 years.

Propulsion
The satellites have four hydrazine thrusters for reboosting its orbit and keeping its altitude.

Mohammed VI-A
The Mohammed VI-A satellite, Morocco's first spy satellite, was launched on Vega flight VV11 on board the Vega launcher from Guiana Space Centre ELA-1, French Guiana, on November 8, 2017. It was launched to low Earth Sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 97.9°.

Mohammed VI-B
The Mohammed VI-B satellite, Morocco's second spy satellite, was launched a year later on Vega flight VV14 from Guiana Space Centre ELA-1, French Guiana, on November 28, 2018. It was launched to Low Earth Sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 97.9°.