24 FEBRUARY 2005. - An Act to Accredit the following Treaties: To the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme, and Annex, made in Paris on 13 November 1984; 2 to the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme, and Annex, made in Paris on 23 October 1991; To become nø 3 in the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme, and Annex, made in Paris on 20 December 1994; Aven nø 4 to the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme, and Annex, made in Paris on 9 January 1996 (1) (2)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constution.
Art. 2. The coming to the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme, and Annex, made in Paris on 13 November 1984, will come out their full and complete effect.
Art. 3. L'Avenant n° 2 à l'Accord entre le Gouvernement du Royaume de Belgique et le Gouvernement de la République française concernant l'performance en commun d'un programme d'observation de la terre, et Annexe, faits à Paris le 23 octobre 1991, sortieont leur plein et toute effet.
Art. 4. L'Avenant n° 3 à l'Accord entre le Gouvernement du Royaume de Belgique et le Gouvernement de la République française concernant l'performance en commun d'un programme d'observation de la terre, et annexe, faits à Paris le 20 décembre 1994, sortont leur plein et toute effet.
Art. 5. L'Avenant n° 4 à l'Accord entre le Gouvernement du Royaume de Belgique et le Gouvernement de la République française concernant l'performance en commun d'un programme d'observation de la terre, et annexe, faits à Paris le 9 janvier 1996, sortont leur plein et toute effet.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 24 February 2005.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
K. DE GUCHT
Minister of Science Policy,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Notes
(1) Session 2003-2005.
Senate:
Parliamentary documents. - Bill tabled on 8 December 2003, No. 3-401/1. - Report, number 3-401/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of December 21, 2004. - Vote, meeting of 21 December 2004.
House of Representatives:
Parliamentary documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 51-1519/1. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 51-1519/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of 20 January 2005. - Vote, meeting of 20 January 2005.
(2) These Avenors come into force on 30 March 2005.

Coming to the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium
and
The Government of the French Republic
Considering the agreement they signed on 20 June 1979 for the realization of a satellite, referred to below SPOT (Probatory Earth Observation System) within the framework of the French national land observation programme for peaceful purposes, and in particular Article 12.2 of this Agreement,
Considering the common interest of the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic, in the development of the commercial market for products derived from SPOT and the responsibilities of the SPOT IMAGE Company in this field,
Considering the participation of the Belgian State in the company SPOT IMAGE,
agreed that:
Article I^er
The agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme is extended for the duration of operation of the second satellite flight model (SPOT 2).
The provisions of the Agreement shall remain mutatis mutandis to the extent that they are not replaced or amended by the provisions of this Advant.
Article II
2.1. The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium agrees to contribute to the financing of the expenses arising from the realization of the SPOT 2 satellite within a firm financial envelope of 140 million Belgian francs at the price level of 1^er July 1981.
This envelope includes:
(a) the costs of the realization and receipt of the electronic equipment of the subsystem of the power supply of the dashboard (regulator shunt and function RSJ and distribution case BD), 46 million Belgian francs at the price level of 1^er July 1981
(b) a fraction of the start-up and orbiting costs, or 89,5 million Belgian francs, at the price level of 1^er July 1981, representing the percentage of Belgium's participation in the use of the system; this amount will be reduced as a second satellite will be launched jointly with SPOT 2,
(c) a margin of 4.5 million Belgian francs at the price level of 1^er July 1981.
2.2. The Government of Belgium undertakes to make its contributions in accordance with the terms and the indicative financial plan set out in the annex to the present decision.
2.3. If further models of the SPOT satellite are launched, the modalities of Belgium's participation will be determined by mutual agreement.
Article III
For the implementation of Articles 4 and 6.6 of the Agreement of 20 June 1979, the parties agree to the following additional provisions:
3.1. (a) The CNES ensures the programming of satellite shots at the request of the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium within 4% of the terrestrial observation capacity transmitted live or deferred to either of the stations in Toulouse or Kiruna that constitute the central network of SPOT reception stations. This capacity is based on the size of the central network, the rights of the Kingdom of Belgium will be calculated at the beginning of the year on the basis of a forecast. The difference between reality and forecast will be taken into account in calculating the rights of the Kingdom of Belgium for the following year,
(b) The terms of this programming are agreed annually between the CNES and the SPPS.
3.2. (a) Any data order to SPOT IMAGE or its distributor in Belgium is subject to a billing at market prices,
(b) In case an order has been previously approved by the SPPS, the CNES reimburses them for each image an amount equal to the difference between the market price and the marginal cost of support and reproduction (reception, archiving, mission control, pretreatment, possible reproduction and shipping).
These refunds will be made in the manner described in the schedule.
(c) The total amount of refunds for SPOT 1 and SPOT 2 data will not exceed the amount of the Kingdom of Belgium contribution to SPOT 1 and SPOT 2.
(d) The SPPS agree to accept a SPOT data order only when it comes from a Belgian user for its own needs.
3.3. The CNES is the exclusive owner of the copyright of the SPOT data regardless of the processing of this data. They do not hinder the recognition of rights of the same nature to the benefit of the pure SPPS the realization of openings or derivatives.
The exclusive rights of the CNES, however, cannot be granted in respect of the images under an order approved by the SPPS to any royalty or restriction of use in Belgium other than that made necessary by the protection of the rights of the CNES.
An agreement between SPOT IMAGE and the entity designated by SPPS will detail the application of the provisions of this Advant to the distribution of data.
Article IV. - Amendments
4.1. This Agreement may be amended by Contracting Parties. The Party wishing to make an amendment shall notify the other Party in writing. The amendment comes into force when each Party has notified the other Party in writing of its acceptance.
4.2. The Annex shall be an integral part of this Advent and may be updated or amended by mutual agreement between the Contracting Parties, with the exception of Belgium's financial commitments.
Article V. - Final provisions
5.1. This Advant shall enter into force on the date of the exchange of notifications recognizing that the national requirements for its entry into force are met.
5.2. This Avender shall be concluded for a period equal to the duration of the operation of the first two SPOT 1 and 2 flight models, unless the Contracting Parties agree with an advance cancellation. It may be extended by mutual agreement for the operating time of subsequent flight models.
Done in Paris, November 13, 1984, in two original French and Dutch copies, both languages being equally authentic.

Annex
Financial provisions
1. Financial commitment of the Belgian Party
The financial commitment of the Belgian Party covers:
(a) the amount of contractual payments made for the benefit of Belgian industrialists in the settlement of work carried out in the context of this Advent,
(b) contribution to satellite launch costs as defined in paragraph 2.
2. Financial envelope
The financial envelope is 140 million Belgian francs under the economic conditions of 1^er July 1981. It decomposes itself:
For the consultation of the table, see image
3. Adjustment for changes in economic conditions
Each annual instalment referred to in the following paragraph will be updated to the economic conditions of 1^er July of the corresponding year according to the following price revision formulas:
3.1. For the equipment of the power subsystem and for the aisles margin:
C/Co = 0.10 + 0.90 S/So in which:
C = is the revised Belgian contribution
Co = is the Belgian contribution to the conditions of 1^er July 1981.
S = is the index of change in wages and social expenses of the Ministry of Public Works in Belgium for the manufacturing sector, at the date of revision.
So = is the same index as the date 1^er July 1981.
3.2. For participation in launch costs:
C = Co (K1 x K2) (K'1 x K'2) (K''1 x K'''2)...
in which:
C = is the revised Belgian contribution
Co = is the Belgian contribution to the conditions of 1^er July 1981
K1 (K'1; K''1...) = is the annual price index as at 30 June calculated in UCE (European Account Unit) for the "ARIANE Operational Phase" activities published by ESA's Wiesbaden experts, adjusted by the index of exchange rate changes on foreign exchange distribution.
Value 30 June 1981 to 30 June 1982: K1 = 1.1108
Value 30 June 1982 to 30 June 1983: K1 = 1.0616
K2 (K'2; K'''2...) = is the annual index of the variation of the Belgian franc in relation to the European Account Unit of 30 June, calculated from the conversion rates of the FB to UCE published by ESA (average of the June indices).
Value 30 June 1981 to 30 June 1982: K2 = 1.0910
Value 30 June 1982 to 30 June 1983: K2 = 1.0065
4. Schedule of payments
As an indication, the envelope schedule, as defined in paragraph 2, is as follows:
For the consultation of the table, see image
Payments will be subject to appeals, submitted by the CNES, each year:
1^er January of the year "n" for the share corresponding to the amount of the year "n" to the economic conditions of 1^er July 1981 and for the share corresponding to the possible balance of the price revision of the year "n - 1".
1^er September of the year "n" for the part corresponding to the partial price revision of the amount of the year "n", revision between the date of the last known indices and 1^er July 1981.
The timeline presented is based on a SPOT 2 launch in August 1986. A SPOT 1 anomaly occurring just after the launch or posting would result in the transfer of the 1986 budget to 1985. A normal operation of SPOT for a year and a half would lead to a shift in expenditure around 1987.
The schedule will be updated by mutual agreement between the two parties each year before 1^er April.
5. Financial rules
The CNES will open an account in a Belgian banking establishment to deposit the amounts received from the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium for contractual payments to be made to the Belgian industry referred to in paragraph 1 (a) of this annex.
The sums corresponding to the purchase of high-reliability components will be paid directly to the Master of Satellite Works, which makes them available to Belgian manufacturers for free.
The amounts referred to in paragraph 1 (b) will be paid directly to the CNES.
6. Provision of SPOT data to the Kingdom of Belgium on privileged conditions
For SPOT data referred to in Article 3, paragraph 2, the CNES will reimburse SPPS for the difference between market prices and the marginal cost of support and reproduction.
In 1985 and 1966, the total annual amount of these refunds will be in the form of assets deducted from the appeals of funds set out in paragraph 4 of this annex.
2 to the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium
and
The Government of the French Republic
Considering the agreement they signed on 20 June 1979 for the realization of a satellite, referred to as SPOT (Probatory Earth Observation System), within the framework of the French national land observation programme for peaceful purposes, and in particular Article 12.2 of this Agreement,
Considering the first Avening to this agreement that they signed on 13 November 1984 concerning SPOT 2 and in particular Article 5.2 of that Agreement,
Considering the common interest of the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic, in the development of the commercial market for products derived from SPOT and the responsibilities of the SPOT IMAGE Company in this field,
Considering the participation of the Belgian State in the company SPOT IMAGE,
agreed that:
Article 1^er
The Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme and its first advent are extended for the duration of operation of the third and fourth satellite flight models (SPOT 3 and SPOT 4), the main characteristics of which are described in the annex.
The provisions of the Agreement and its first advent shall remain mutatis mutandis to the extent that they are not replaced or amended by the provisions of this Advant.
Article 2
2.1. The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium agrees to contribute to the financing of the expenses arising from the realization of the SPOT 3 and SPOT 4 satellites within the limits of a fixed financial envelope of 270 million Belgian francs.
This envelope covers:
participation in the costs of the work carried out by Belgian industrialists:
(a) participation in the completion and receipt of equipment of the primary power supply electronics of SPOT 3 and SPOT 4,
b) the costs of the definition study of secondary payload feed electronics Vegetation studied for SPOT 4,
(c) the cost of studying electrical means of the secondary payload Vegetation studied for SPOT 4,
(d) participation in the implementation of station 2 GHz of the Kerguelen for SPOT 4,
(e) participation in radiometric testing of SPOT 4 HRVIR instruments,
participation in the launch and orbiting costs of SPOT 3 and SPOT 4.
2.2. The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium undertakes to pay its contribution in two tranches. The first instalment, which covers 80 per cent of the total amount, will be paid no later than three months after the signature of this instalment and the balance will be paid no later than six months after the signature of this instalment.
Payments will be made on an account opened by the CNES in a Belgian banking institution.
The CNES will have the free use of these funds up to the pre-financing shown for the benefit of Belgian industrialists.
2.3. If further models of the SPOT satellite are launched, the modalities of Belgium's participation will be determined by mutual agreement.
Article 3
For the implementation of Articles 4 and 6.6 of the Agreement of 20 June 1979, the parties agree to the following additional provisions:
3.1. (a) The CNES ensures the programming of the SPOT 3 and SPOT 4 satellites at the request of the Government of Belgium within 1% of the terrestrial observation capacity transmitted live or deferred to either of the stations in Toulouse or Kiruna that constitute the central network of SPOT reception stations. This capacity is based on the size of the central network, the rights of the Kingdom of Belgium will be calculated at the beginning of the year on the basis of a forecast.
The difference between reality and forecast will be taken into account in calculating the rights of the Kingdom of Belgium for the following year.
(b) The terms of this programming are agreed annually between the CNES and the SPPS.
3.2. (a) Any data order to SPOT IMAGE or its distributor in Belgium is subject to billing at market prices.
(b) In case an order has been previously approved by the SPPS, the CNES reimburses them for each image an amount equal to the difference between the market price and the marginal cost of support and reproduction (reception, archiving, mission control, pretreatment, possible reproduction and shipping).
(c) The total amount of refunds for SPOT 3 and SPOT 4 data will not exceed the amount of the Kingdom of Belgium contribution to SPOT 3 and SPOT 4.
(d) The SPPS agree to accept a SPOT data order only when it comes from a Belgian user for its own needs.
3.3. The CNES is the exclusive owner of the copyright of the SPOT data regardless of the processing of this data. They do not impede the recognition of similar rights to the SPPS for the realization of works or derivatives.
The exclusive rights of the CNES, however, cannot be granted in respect of the images under an order approved by the SPPS to any royalty or restriction of use in Belgium other than that made necessary by the protection of the rights of the CNES.
An agreement between SPOT IMAGE and the entity designated by SPPS will detail the application of the provisions of this Advant to the distribution of data.
Article 4. - Amendments
The Appendix is an integral part of this Advant.
This Avenor and its annex may be amended by Contracting Parties. The party wishing to make an amendment shall notify the other Party in writing. The amendment comes into force when each Party has notified the other Party in writing of its acceptance.
Article 5. - Final provisions
5.1. This Advant shall enter into force on the date of the exchange of notifications recognizing that the national requirements for its entry into force are met.
5.2. This Avender is concluded for a period equal to the duration of the operation of the first four SPOT 1, 2, 3 and 4 flight models except for an advance cancellation by mutual agreement by the Contracting Parties. It may be extended by mutual agreement for the operating time of subsequent flight models.
Done in Paris on 23 October 1991, in two original copies in Dutch and French, both languages being equally authentic.

Annex to A. No. 2 to the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme
CHARACTERISTICS OF SPOT 3 and SPOT 4
1. Characteristics of the SPOT 3 satellite
The SPOT 3 satellite is built identical to the SPOT 2 satellite.
Delivery is scheduled in the first half of 1991.
Its launch should take place at the end of SPOT 2.
2. SPOT 4 satellite features
The SPOT 4 satellite, built in the continuity of SPOT 1 to SPOT 3, has the following improvements:
- life span of 5 years,
- adding a spectral band in the Infra-Red Mean to 1.6 m more efficient for discrimination of different plant species and their state of growth,
- passenger port capacity, it is in particular planned to embark a set of space and technology environment measurement experiments (PASTEC: PAssager Spot TEChnologique) and a terminal allowing a high-speed connection (60 M bits/S) by laser beam to a geostationary relay satellite; this experience PASTEL (PAssager SPot de TELecommunication Laser) is conducted in cooperation with the European Space Agency.
The possibility of a passenger of the instrument type with large field Vegetation is preserved, a definitive selection of the use of the capacity thus offered will be made in good time.
Delivery is planned in the second half of 1994.
Its launch should take place at the end of SPOT 3.
Operational implementation requires the development of a new CNES 2 GHZ network station.
This new station will be located in Kerguelen and is to be commissioned in 1993.

Avert #3 to the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning joint execution
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium
and
The Government of the French Republic
Considering the agreement they signed on 20 June 1979 for the realization of the SPOT satellite and the amendments 1 and 2 to this agreement (relatives to SPOT 2, 3 and 4)
Considering the common interest of the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic in the realization of the Vegetation programme and the use of its data,
Considering the context of cooperation of this programme between the European Community, Italy, Sweden, Belgium and France, co-operation carried out by the signing of an agreement referred to below for cooperation Vegetation between the various partners, namely, the ASI (Italy), the SNSB (Sweden), the SSTC (Belgium), the CNES (France) and the European Commission, dated 25 May 1994,
Considering the letter addressed to the Director-General of CNES by the Secretary-General of the SSTC dated 23 March 1994 and the response of the Director-General of CNES to that letter dated 19 May 1994,
agreed that:
Article 1^er
The Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme and its amendments 1 and 2 are extended to the implementation of the Vegetation programme whose main features are described in the annex.
The provisions of the Agreement and its amendments 1 and 2 shall remain applicable to the extent that they are not replaced or amended by the provisions of this Agreement relating to the Vegetation Program and in accordance with the principles defined in the Vegetation Cooperation Agreement.
Article 2. - Obligations of Belgium and France
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium agrees to contribute to the financing of the expenditure resulting from the realization of the Vegetation programme (including payload and associated ground segment) in the amount of 500 million Belgian francs (five hundred million Belgian francs), under the economic conditions of June 1993. This amount does not include the associated price revisions or the hazards identified in the Vegetation Cooperation Agreement.
This envelope covers participation in the costs of the work carried out by Belgian industrialists, in accordance with the tables in the annex to the present amendment:
- electronic instrument converter and distribution housing,
- flight software,
- electrical, mechanical and optical soils,
- sub-emptive testing of useful load models,
- programming centre,
- image and image quality processing centers,
- image reception station.
Other scientific, technical and industrial work such as participation in the preparation of users for the exploitation of Vegetation data and the preparation of operations of the Vegetation system to the recipe in flight will be carried out in Belgium.
The total amount of work and services carried out in Belgium is estimated at 800 million Belgian francs, under the economic conditions of June 1993, excluding technical hazards and price revisions.
The terms and conditions for payment of the contribution of the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium are set out in the above-mentioned Vegetation Cooperation Agreement.
Payments for the benefit of the work and services carried out by the Belgian industry will be made on an account opened by the CNES in a Belgian banking establishment.
The CNES will have free use of these funds to the extent of the funding shown for the benefit of the Belgian industries, as part of the Vegetation program.
Article 3. - Later models
If subsequent models of the payload Vegetation are developed and changes in the ground segment realized, the modalities of Belgium's participation and any associated work entrusted to the Belgian industry will be determined by mutual agreement according to the programmatic context.
In particular, in the event that a multilateral structure is established, requiring a co-financing of programme partners, CNES will promote a coherent industrial structure with that established in the first generation, subject to appropriate Belgian funding.
In the event that an operating entity funds all renewal expenses and where the CNES is entrusted with mastery, the CNES will also promote this industrial structure.
Article 4. - Rights and intellectual property
Within the specific framework of the Vegetation Cooperation Agreement and in accordance with the principles of this Agreement concerning the realization of the first model of the payload and the establishment of the associated ground segment, the rules of intellectual property are defined by means of contracts concluded by the CNES with the Belgian industry; these rules are defined in consultation with the SSTCs.
Article 5. - Amendments
The Appendix is an integral part of this advent.
This advent and its annex may be amended by Contracting Parties in accordance with the principles defined in the Vegetation Cooperation Agreement. The Party wishing to make an amendment shall notify the other Party in writing. The amendment shall enter into force when each Party has notified the other Party in writing of its acceptance.
Article 6. - Duration
6.1. This amendment shall enter into force on the date of the exchange of notifications that the national requirements for its entry into force are met.
6.2. This advent is concluded for a period covering the development, qualification and flight recipe phase of the Végétation payload and associated ground segment; the end of this period shall be no later than two years after the date of launch of SPOT 4, unless the contracting parties have agreed to repeal an advance notice. The terms and conditions for the operating phase will be the subject of an exchange of letters between the two parties. An early repeal is possible only in accordance with the principles defined in the Vegetation Cooperation Agreement. This advent may be extended by mutual agreement for subsequent models.
Done in Paris on 20 December 1994 in two original copies in French and Dutch, the two angels being equally authentic.

Annex to A. No. 3 to the Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme
VEGETATION A BORD DE SPOT 4 :
PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION
1. INTRODUCTION
The overall objectives of the Vegetation program are to provide precise and operational measures of the simple characteristics of plant cover:
- either for scientific studies that include both regional experiences and global experiences over long periods of time (for example, the development of biosphere dynamic models in interaction with climate models),
- either for systems to monitor large vegetation productions such as crops, pastures and forests.
The "Vegetation" system, consisting of an instrument on board a satellite and its associated ground segment, is intended to provide simple, long-term measures adapted to biosphere studies. The integration functions at different spatial scales are ensured by a combination of the SPOT (HRVIR) main instruments that allow for high spatial resolution for detailed modelling activities or multi-level sampling procedures. Data can be made available to different types of users thanks to the centralization of the reception and archiving of global data, associated with quality monitoring. The launch date (planned to 1997) and the duration of the system (estimated to about 5 years of life) are adapted to a systematic and extensive application of the methodologies that already exist or will be developed over the next five years.
It is clear that this system will benefit from detailed studies based on other systems dedicated to specific studies of the characteristics of remote sensing measures or their relationship with surface or process parameters. It is to be considered that the evolution of mission specifications will have to take into account the results of such studies to allow a better characterization of the state and dynamics of the biosphere.
II. MISSION OBJECTIVES
The specifications VG-DSM-0-10-CN and VG-SM-0-20-CN (Ref. 5 and 6) describe the requirements for the mission and image of the products to be taken into account by the Project Group for the Design of the Vegetation System. The following paragraphs summarize these requirements.
The objectives of the Vegetation mission are fully described in Ref. 1. Three types of uses are briefly described below:
- mapping of surface parameters: this is the main use, especially for climatic and meteorological studies in which limit conditions must be prescribed, for example for global traffic models or for forecast models. Factors such as surface roughness, albedo, sensitive and latent heat flow are important variables for these models and can be determined from a "simple" identification of the earth's crown. Their seasonal and long-term variations are linked to the dynamics of vegetation and the ability to identify the physical characteristics of land cover is essential for a precise determination of these variables. The scales defined in the planetary traffic models and forecast models (usually around 100 km) require that the earth cover and its variability be determined with a sampling of about 8 to 10 km (Ref. 4): the basic spatial resolution required for the identification of land cover and its variability is 1 km. The requirements of the IGBP program introduce the need for basic areas (blocks 10 x 10 km)² about) on which radiometric properties must be specified to obtain a more accurate analysis than on larger blocks (areas of about 1,000 x 1,000 km² for example);
- agricultural production, pastures and forests: since the beginning of the era of satellite remote sensing of continental surfaces (1972), important projects (e.g. LACIE, AGRISTARS for USDA, MARS for CEC, TREES for JRC/ESA...) have been put in place to develop methodologies and strategies for the use of high-pressure data, or for the mapping of natural ecosystems The specific objective of these projects was to determine the evolution of productions. For crop management in exporting agricultural countries, this objective was to be adapted to the monitoring of grazing resources and their dependency on meteorological developments, the assessment of the overall impacts that could result from deforestation and, more generally, the information needs related to political or social orientations and decisions. A reference model to be used to infer specifications for the plant system is the MARS project (Ref. 2), in particular because of the structure of the project itself based on complementary methods using field surveys, high spatial resolution (SPOT and Landsat/TM data) and frequent observations (NOAA/AVHRR) and conventional agrometeorological models;
- monitoring and modelling of the mechanisms of the terrestrial biosphere: the contribution of the continental biosphere to the biogeochemical cycles (carbon exchanges and other trace gases) and to the exchange of water and energy is one of the objectives of the development of global models. Interaction with human activities is also one of the main points to be explored because the effect of human pressure on the biosphere could be one of the means by which man acts, in the long term, on the climate. The processes of the biosphere and the determination of the characteristics of the terrestrial cover are the basis for quantification: estimates of the terrestrial cover variables and the dynamics of these variables are necessary to achieve a good understanding of the problem, which will then lead to modelling. The prediction of the impact of climate change on the biosphere and the interactions of the biosphere with the climate due to natural factors or human pressure can only be deduced from the quantification and training of mechanisms governing the operation of plant coverage and ecosystems. It is necessary to develop and link series of multi-scale models, ranging from field surveys and the definition of local parameters and models to regional or global dynamics and interaction models. The remote sensing of vegetation, as described above, provides a unique tool for these developments, provided that system specifications are adapted to each particular need.
III. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM
Given the specifications discussed and proposed by the International Committee of Users (see Ref. 5 and 6), it is possible to summarize in the following way the characteristics of the Vegetation instrument and the embedded system:
III.1. Radiometric specifications
For the consultation of the table, see image
Radiometric resolution (NEΔOp)
Red0,001 up to reflectances of 0.10
linear increase up to 0.003 for reflections of 0.5
PIR, MIR 0.003 for the whole beach
Blue 0.003 for the whole beach
Internal image coherence: in an entire image, corresponding to a NEΔOp of 0.005 for any reflectance value
Calibration accuracy:
Interband and multitime: better than 3% (objective)
absolute: better than 5 per cent (objective)
III.2. Geometric specifications
Space resolution: in both directions, 1.15 km nadir, minimum variations for field edge observations due to the use of CCD detectors
Field of view: maximum field edge observation angle of approximately 50.5 (0.2200 km)
Geometric precisions:
Local distortion: less than 0.3 pixel,
Location accuracy: greater than 1,000 m (souhaity), 2,000 m(specified),
Multispectral Superposition: significantly better than 0.3 pixel
Spatial coverage: measures of approximately 90% of the equatorial regions are taken every day, with the remaining 10% being taken the next day. For latitudes greater than 35 (north and south), all regions are acquired at least once a day, several measurements being provided on the same day with different observation geometries. The precision specifications in III.1 and III. 2 must be reached as soon as the solar zenith angle is less than 60.
III.3. Operating specifications
Transmission of images: all spectral bands with full spatial resolution acquired on terrestrial regions will be stored on board in a solid state memory (capacity of 2.2 Gbits), which allows to use a single receiving station to which the data will be transmitted in the X-band. All spectral bands will also be transmitted in the L band, for local reception stations with high compatibility with existing NOAA/AVHRR HRPT reception stations.
III.4. Technical description of the payload
The Végétation payload is designed from the beginning to meet the system constraints that guarantee complete compatibility with the SPOT satellite. It was possible to simplify the interfaces between the payload and the host satellite by designing a payload as independent as possible. The Vegetation System is completely autonomous with regard to:
- telemetry in the X and L bands,
- recording and storage of auxiliary images and data,
- maintenance (including programming and monitoring).
The system is designed to have a nominal reliability of 0.8 over 4 years. The calculated lifetime is compatible with a planned overall life of 5 years. The system consists of four main sets:
- the imager, consisting of an electronic CCD scan radiometer, associated electronics and a calibration subsystem,
- a subset of image processing realizing the agglomeration of pixels and formatting of telemetry data,
- an on-board management subset that handles the SPOT 4/Vegetation bus dialogue and controls all Vegetation equipment, including registration (sturdy state of 2.2 Gbits),
- a subset of telemetry in downlink in the X and L bands.
III.5. Product definition
Products are defined by the International Committee of Users. They must be tailored to the specific missions described above and should be as coherent as possible with the needs of existing projects. Two general user categories can be identified:
- research groups developing methodologies for the use of data Vegetation or scientific studies of the biosphere: they usually have a study site (about 500 x 500 km)²) and require long-term series (one year of daily or weekly data),
- projects based on the use of data Vegetation as well as other data sets, for which data delivery must be fully operational, for long periods for comparison or historical studies (one continent per day). These projects are MARS, TREES, IGBP...
The general characteristics of the products are now defined, as well as the overall organization of the different levels (Table 1).
Level 1 corresponds to uncorrected data except system errors: misrepresentation of the different spectral bands, calibration of all detectors along the detector rods for each spectral band. The details below apply to this data level. These data are accompanied by annotations giving complete information for a further correction of errors not related to the system: geometric parameters taking into account the attitude and position in orbit, the "standard" atmospheric corrections proposed in Ref. 3.
For the consultation of the table, see image
Level 2 corresponds to level 1 data that were corrected using the annotations accompanying level 1 data. Several possible geometric projections will be proposed. Until now, products accessible to users will be selected as part of an orbital journey.
Level 3 data is most likely the data that will be used operationally: they correspond to level 1 data that have been corrected using the annotations and for which some synthesises are provided:
- a daily synthesis using all measures available in one day for a particular location,
- a temporal synthesis (perhaps over a period between 5 and 10 days) based on the selection of the "best measure of the whole period. This choice can be made based on the maximum value of the standard vegetation index, a method generally accepted now, despite the identification of many problems related to this selection.
The evolution of user needs and the validation of new algorithms requires a regular updating procedure of the processing system. This procedure must include new methods of correction, synthesis, etc. of data as soon as they are accepted by the user community.
A support will be provided to users to facilitate the use of Vegetation data. Indeed, a catalogue with a data quality consultation function (nebulosity) will be accessible through the telecommunications lines and the usual networks. Validated software models will be widely available for standard data processing and correction operations.
IV. Vegetation soil segment
The ground segment of Vegetation will be divided into two parts:
- the mission and control segment associated with SPOT 4,
- the floor segment image.
IV.1. Mission and control soil segment
Its main function is to control and program the Végétation payload using, respectively, downlink maintenance telemetry and remote controls in uplink with SPOT 4.
The centre will be located on the same site as the SPOT control and mission centre 4.
IV.2. Segment floor image
It is possible to distinguish five main functions for the image floor segment (SSIV):
First function (F1): Acquisition and recording of telemetry
The telemetry images in the global mode, transmitted in visibility to the main station in Kiruna, must be acquired and then transformed into digital data and recorded on a standard medium. The data produced corresponds to level 0.
This is also the case for telemetry images acquired in the regional mode on an area centered on Toulouse for the monitoring and control of the image quality of the instrument Vegetation (AC).
Second function (F2): Archiving and First Level Processing
The following operations are systematically carried out for all Global Vegetation data:
- permanent archiving of level 1 data
- Systematic level 1 treatment per shooting segment,
- Temporary archiving of level 1 data (due to be defined).
Third function (F3): Level 3 product generation
Systematic treatment (F3a)
The IMS systematically performs the following functions:
- global synthesis of level 3 per day of shooting,
- global level 3 synthesis of data obtained during 7 days of shooting (AC),
- permanent archiving of these level 3 products.
Treatment on request (F3b)
At the specific request of users, the SSIV:
- extracts level 1 products from the archives (or regenerates the requested product),
- generates level 2 products
- extract from level 3 products from the archives (and can create specific products of level 3 AC).
Fourth function (F4): User interface and data distribution
The IMS shall:
- allow users to consult local or remotely from the data archives Vegetation, according to a number of criteria such as the geographic area of interest, a given shooting period, the existence of HRVIR data (in this case, a link will be required with the HRVIR data catalogue to SPOT IMAGE),
- consider exceptional requests for instrument programming for areas not covered by systematic programming,
- allow users to order level 1, 2 or 3 Vegetation products, depending on certain criteria such as the geographic area of interest, the shooting period, the cartographic projection (for levels 2 and 3), etc.,
- verify and distribute products according to user orders,
- ensure that system parameters for soil treatment are distributed to direct reception stations and external treatment centres,
- ensure interface with SPOT IMAGE for data exchanges allowing the supply of combined Vegetation/HRVIR products,
- provide to users' request, software products enabling the use of image products (product reading software, image correction software, etc. AD).
Fifth function: Surveillance and quality control image
The IMS shall:
- define the system parameters necessary for soil processing,
- perform the operational control of satellite/sol image chains, including during the flight test of the payload,
- perform inter-instrument calibration (HRVIR/Végétation), especially with regard to telemetry and radiometric calibration.
V. References
1. Achard F., JP. Malingreau, T. Phulpin, G. Saint, B. Saugier, B. Seguin, D. Vidal-Madjar (1992), "A mission for global monitoring of the continental biosphere"
2. Seguin B., Fischer A. (1992), "Development of actions to deepen the possibilities for the operational application of NOAA-AVHRR satellites to the agroclimatic monitoring of crops across the EEC", Contract INRA-CCR n 4223-9D-12 ED ISP F 04/92
3. IGBP-DIS (1992), "Improved Global Data for Land Applications", IGBP report n 20.
4. IGBP-DIS (1992), "Requirement for terrestrial biospheric data for IGBP Core Projects", Toulouse Workshop June 17-19 1991. IGBP-DIS Working Paper n 2 June 1992.
5. Saint G. (1993), Vegetation onboard SPOT 4: Mission specifications, LERTS/GS 93/168, VG-SM-0-10-CN.
6. Saint G. (1993), Vegetation onboard SPOT 4: Products specifications, LERTS/GS 93/047, VG-SM-0-20-CN.
For the consultation of the table, see image
INDUSTRIAL POLICY
Table 2: Soil segment
(to be consolidated after Phase A studies)
For the consultation of the table, see image

INDUSTRIAL POLICY
Table 3: System Development Elements
For the consultation of the table, see image

Incoming #4 to the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium
and
The Government of the French Republic,
Considering the Agreement they signed on 20 June 1979 for the realization of a satellite, referred to as SPOT (Probatory Earth Observation System), within the framework of the French national land observation programme for peaceful purposes, and in particular Article 12.2 of this Agreement,
Considering the first Avening to this agreement that they signed on 13 November 1984 concerning SPOT 2 and in particular Article 5.2 of that Avender,
Considering the second coming to this agreement which they signed on 23 October 1991 concerning SPOT 3 and 4,
Considering the third As they signed on 20 December 1994 concerning the instrument Végétation on SPOT 4 and its ground segment,
Considering the common interest of the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic, in the development of the commercial market for products derived from SPOT and the responsibilities of the SPOT IMAGE Company in this field,
Considering the interest of the Belgian State in the company SPOT IMAGE,
agreed that:
Article 1^er
The agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme is extended for the duration of development and operational operation of the fifth and sixth satellite flight models (SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B), whose characteristics are described in Appendix 1^re.
The provisions of the Agreement shall remain mutatis mutandis to the extent that they are not replaced or amended by the provisions of this Advant.
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium entrusts to the Federal Services for Scientific, Technical and Cultural Affairs, referred to below as the SSTC (formerly the SPPS), the execution of this Advant.
The Government of the French Republic entrusts to the National Centre for Space Studies, referred to below the CNES, the execution of this Advant.
Article 2
2.1. Contents
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium agrees to contribute to the financing of expenditures arising from the realization and launch of SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B satellites. This contribution covers:
2.1.1. The payment of the services of Belgian industrialists in the following works:
- electronic equipment of the power supply subsystem ( Shunt and Jonction-RSJ- and Distribution box-BD-) including high reliability discrete components and associated simulations,
- structure of the telemetry box useful charge,
- tests of the geometric high-resolution shooting instrument,
- embedded software,
- means electric floors and associated software,
- space image reception station,
- mailing and maintenance centre and programming centre,
- segment floor image,
- any other possible work, in the context of the satellites of the Earth observation channel of the CNES, having been agreed before the CNES and the SSTC.
These services correspond to Belgian strategic directions for space industrial policy. They cannot be modified by the CNES and the SSTC without the prior agreement of the other party.
2.1.2. 4% of the share of SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B launch and posting costs to be charged to SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B programs.
2.1.3. A limit of 10 per cent of the cost of benefits referred to in paragraph 2.1.1. to cover, where applicable, additional expenses resulting from technical hazards.
2.2. Financial provisions
Financial provisions for the execution of Article 2.1. are included in Appendix 2 to this Advant.
2.3. Later models
If later or derived models of SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B satellites are launched, the modalities of Belgium's participation will be determined by mutual agreement.
2.4. Payload Vegetation
SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B satellites are designed to be able to load Végétation (see Appendix 1^re).
Article 3
For the implementation of Articles 4 and 6.6. of the Agreement of 20 June 1979, the Parties agree to the following amendments and additional provisions, provided that the terms Application for Accredited Programming, Associated Use, Scenes, Certified Scenes, Data, Work and Derivatives are defined in Annex 3.
3.1. The CNES guarantees the programming of the SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B satellites at the request of the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium within 4% of the satellite operation time. This guaranteed operating time is defined as the sum of the operating times at the disposal of the CNES or an entity designated by the CNES during which the satellites transmit live or deferred shots to either of the stations of Toulouse and Kiruna that constitute the central network of SPOT reception stations. This guaranteed operating time will be calculated at the beginning of the year and expressed on a quarter-per-quarter forecast.
Requests for programming approved by TSS and/or entities designated by TSS will be made free of charge within the guaranteed operating time, regardless of the priority level, provided that the time allocated to priority applications does not exceed 10% of the guaranteed operating time. Within these 10%, the CNES guarantees the execution of the programming, at the request of the SSTC, of an annual coverage of Belgian territory.
Applications for programming approved by TSS and/or entities designated by TSS will be made in accordance with previous priority programming by both third parties and TSS and/or entities designated by TSS.
It was agreed that the priority programming right should be exercised by TSS and/or entities designed by TSS, so as to prevent the CNES and/or an entity designated by the CNES from being in a position to program and acquire images in a given region.
If such a situation occurred, the CNES and/or an entity designated by the CNES, and the SSTC and/or the entities designated by the SSTC would meet to resolve the problem in accordance with their mutual interests.
Beyond the guaranteed time, programming requests will be charged at market prices.
3.2. As part of this advent, and during the operational life in orbit of SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B satellites, the CNES authorizes the SSTC and/or entities designated by the SSTC to order a maximum of N Scenes per year under the conditions described below:
- the value of N is called the amount of reference, it corresponds to 4% of the number of original scenes, received in Toulouse and Kiruna, annually sold, N will not be less than 400,
- the commands of scenes carried out in the context of this reference quantity must be previously approved by the SSTC, these approved scene orders will be charged at the marginal cost of support and reproduction (reception, archiving, control and programming, pre-treatment, possible reproduction and shipping).
3.3. The CNES is the sole proprietor of the copyright of the SPOT Data regardless of the processing provided to these Data. These rights do not impede the recognition of rights of the same nature to the benefit of the TSS for the realization of works or derivatives.
The exclusive rights of the CNES, however, cannot, with respect to the scenes covered by the reference quantity as defined in Chapter 3.2., give rise to any royalty or restriction of use provided that these scenes are used by an authorized customer for use itself.
The exclusive rights of the CNES will be recalled by the mention "(c)(year) CNES all rights reserved".
3.4. The rules relating to the distribution of the Data and the terms and conditions for the application of the Article 3 clauses will be specified in an agreement between the TSS, on the one hand, and the CNES or an entity designated by the CNES, on the other.
Article 4. - Amendments
Annexes 1, 2 and 3 are an integral part of this Advant.
This Avenor and its annexes may be amended by the Contracting Parties. The party wishing to make an amendment shall notify the other Party in writing. The Amendment comes into force when each Party has notified the other Party in writing of its acceptance.
Article 5. - Final provisions
5.1. This Advant comes into force on the date of the exchange of notifications that the national requirements for its entry into force are met.
5.2. This Avender is entered into for a period equal to the duration of the development and operational operation of the SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B flight models, except for the early termination of an agreement by the contracting parties. It may be extended by a mutual agreement for the development and operational duration of subsequent flight models.
Done in Paris on 9 January 1996 in two copies in French and Dutch, both languages being equally authentic.

Annex 1^re the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme
CHARACTERISTICS OF SATELLITES
SPOT 5A AND SPOT 5B
The SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B satellites, built in the service continuity of SPOT 1 to 4 satellites, have the following improvements:
- spatial resolution of images: monospectral resolution passes from 10 m to 5 m, multispectral resolution passes from 20 m to 10 m except for the medium infrared spectral band that retains a resolution of 20 m,
- stereoscopic viewing along the track improving the operational capacity of shots.
For this purpose the payload is composed of 3 instruments High Geometric Resolution (HRG) based on the instruments developed on SPOT 4, a nadir instrument, the other two aiming along the track, forward and rear of the nadir to perform the stereoscopic shots with a field width of about 60 km. These three instruments allow, upon request, to acquire a field width of approximately 180 km.
The design of the telemetry image, using static memory for the storage of images data and 3 channels at 50 MB/sec. to transmit these images data to the ground, improves the operational capacity of the system.
The passenger port capacity is preserved, in particular it is planned to re-board a new set of space and technology measurement experiments (PASTEC: PAssager Spot TEChnologique), this port capacity allows the embarkation of the instrument with a large Vegetation field.
The delivery of the SPOT 5A satellite is planned in the second half of 2000, its launch is expected to take place in 2002, the date corresponding to the end of SPOT 4.
The SPOT 5B satellite is built identical to SPOT 5A, its delivery is planned in 2002 and its launch is expected to take place in 2007, the date corresponding to the end of life of SPOT 5A.

Annex 2 to the Avender n 4 has the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme
FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
1. Financial commitment of the Belgian Party
The Belgian financial commitment focuses on:
(a) The work referred to in paragraph 2.1.1. of this Avenant, within an envelope of 1,134 million Belgian francs (mille cent thirty-four million Belgian francs) under the economic conditions of 1^er January 1994 (excluding aleas and price revision formula), amounting to approximately 4 per cent of the cost of SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B excluding launch and posting costs.
(b) 4% participation in launch and posting costs.
This amount is estimated at 192 million Belgian francs for a single launch (384 million Belgian francs for the two simple launches), under the economic conditions of 1^er January 1994.
The final amount for each of the launches will be determined in accordance with the actual prices, at the expense of the SPOT 5 programme, carried out by the Arianespace Company.
The payment terms and conditions for these amounts will be finalized in the year 2000, an estimated schedule is given in item 2 (b) of this Annex.
The final version of this participation will still be subject to the prior agreement of the Council of Belgian Ministers.
(c) An aisle margin, limited to 10% of the amount of work referred to in 2.1.1. of this Coming.
(d) The price revisions, based on the discount formulas applied in the contracts covering the various work referred to in point 1. (a) of this Annex. These formulas will be the subject of prior agreement between the SSTC and the CNES.
2. Schedule of payments of the Belgian financial contribution
(a) Payments of the Belgian contribution of the activities referred to in Article 2.1.1 to the economic conditions of 1^er January 1994 will follow the schedule below:
For the consultation of the table, see image
(b) The estimated payment schedule for the activities referred to in article 2.1.2 (launch and posting of SPOT 5A and B satellites) is as follows:
For the consultation of the table, see image
3. Financial rules
(a) Payments will be made on an account opened specifically for SPOT 5A and SPOT 5B activities, by the CNES in a Belgian banking institution. CNES will provide CTS with annual information on the status of the account or following a specific request from CTS.
(b) With respect to the industrial activities described in paragraph 1.(a) of this Annex, CNES will call the funds to the TSS in 1996, based on program requirements and in accordance with the schedule of remittances set out in item 2. of this Annex.
The CNES will have free use of these funds, up to the proven financing for the benefit of the Belgian industries.
(c) For any technical hazards referred to in paragraph 1.(c) of this Annex, the CNES may call the corresponding amounts from 1^er January 1998. These amounts will be the subject of a preliminary detailed justification from the TSS.
(d) The CNES will call the funds at the beginning of the year, the amounts called will be updated to the economic conditions of the month of June of the current year, after presentation to the TSS of the estimation calculations on the basis of the discount formulas referred to in 1.d) of this Annex. The corresponding payment procedure will then be initiated by the TSS.

Annex 3 to Avender No. 4 to the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic concerning the joint execution of a land observation programme
GLOSSAIRE
(1) The term "Data" means:
(a) Any signal representing a scene or part of the scene transmitted by the satellites and received by a station, and any recording of that signal, in any form, recorded on an appropriate medium.
(b) The so-called signals processed by any method that does not result in a significant change in the form of so-called signals by the use of data other than that of the acquisition system.
The form of the data is that determined by the acquisition system: this system includes the satellite and its sensors, the orbital characteristics of the satellite and the earth movement. In general, algorithmic procedures, recording mode, formats and means used or margin annotations do not affect this form.
2) "Accredited Programming Applications" and "Accredited Scenes"
An application for approved programming is intended for an authorized customer for an approved use.
An approved scene is intended for an approved customer for use itself.
- The "accredited" client is a Belgian user (legal or physical person) with at least one permanent residence in Belgium, or its head office.
- The "approved" use is a limited use to the client's own internal needs that cannot result in any marketing: no distribution, no resale of data, no copy or transformation for the purpose of marketing the data as such.
This limitation of use does not, however, relate to the transformations of data to obtain "works and derivatives" as defined in Article 4 below, nor to the marketing of "works and derivatives" thus obtained.
To be "approved", a program application and a scene must meet the two conditions above.
(3) A "stage" means:
A data set that, when not resampled, includes approximately:
- 6,000 pixels on 6,000 pixels on three multispectral strips- B1, B2, B3 and 3,000 pixels on 3,000 pixels on the fourth MIR multispectral band.
- 12,000 pixels on 12,000 pixels on the panchromatic strip.
These figures represent a surface area of approximately 60 km over 60 km over 80 km depending on the angle of observation.
4) "work and derivatives"
This term refers to any kind of product executed from the "data" using data other than that of the acquisition system. These products have higher added value as a result of treatments or additions of information, they must result in a significant change in the form of data and represent a creative human intervention.