Credit: SpaceX
Luxembourg’s Directorate of Defence has reported that on Tuesday 26 August 2025, at 11:53 (CET), the Luxembourg Earth Observation System (LUXEOSys) satellite was launched successfully from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States.
According to the Directorate of Defence, the satellite, carried onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, took less than twelve minutes from lift-off to reach its deployment altitude. It added that the launch and the subsequent operationalisation of the system mark important steps in the implementation of the Luxembourg Defence Space Strategy.
The government-owned LUXEOSys satellite entered a sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit at an altitude of approximately 450 km, travelling at 8 km/s. With fifteen orbits per day, the system will be able to deliver up to 100 very high-resolution images per day, with each 2.5GB image capturing a 10x10 km area.
The Directorate of Defence noted that the dual-use LUXEOSys satellite system will be used for a wide range of applications, including military operations, security applications, monitoring of troop movements in a conflict zone, human disasters and humanitarian assistance, natural disaster support and climate change monitoring. The satellite has an expected service life of seven (plus three) years.
Through this state-of-the-art Earth observation system, Luxembourg Defence will address the growing demand for governmental satellite imagery. Once fully operational in early 2026 – following a series of key in-orbit tests - LUXEOSys will enable the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence to act as an image provider for the EU, NATO, the UN and other trusted partners, thereby contributing to national, European and transatlantic security.
The LUXEOSys satellite and its decentralised ground segment were designed and built by OHB Italy as prime contractor.
