France, Belgium and Sweden have worked together from the beginning of the SPOT programme. The partners joined forces again to develop the SPOT 5 system. And for the first time, industrial prime contractor Astrium and commercial operator Spot Image contributed funding.

Many manufacturers in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden contributed actively to the development of the satellite and ground support facilities. Following SPOT 1 in 1986, SPOT 2 in 1990, SPOT 3 in 1993 and SPOT 4 in 1998, the SPOT 5 satellite is being orbited in 2002 from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, atop an Ariane 4 launch vehicle.