Paris — The "Mohammed VI-B" earth observation satellite was successfully launched on Tuesday night by Arianespace via its Vega launcher from the Kourou base in French Guiana.

This follows the launch of the "Mohammed VI-A" satellite put into orbit on 7 November 2017, also by Arianespace, the French company responsible for marketing and operating the space launch systems developed by ArianeGroup.

According to Arianespace, the two satellites will be complementary and will provide faster coverage of areas of interest.

The "Mohammed VI-B" satellite will be used in particular for mapping and cadastral activities, land use planning, monitoring of agricultural activities, prevention and management of natural disasters, monitoring of environmental changes and desertification, as well as border and coastal surveillance.