The blastoff was initially scheduled for December 18, but was delayed due to weather conditions.
"The launch was planned for December 18, 19:37 Moscow time [16:37 GMT]. Due to strong winds 10 kilometers [6.2 miles] above the ground, the launch was delayed by 24 hours. It is now planned for December 19, 19:37 Moscow time," a source in the space industry told Sputnik.
The Airbus Defence and Space company is set to produce the CSO-1 and CSO-2 for the French military to replace the latter's Helios 2A and Helios 2B satellites, launched in 2004 and 2009, respectively.