After acquiring millions of pictures of Earth, the SPOT 5 satellite was retired from service between 1 and 11 December. Following a series of 6 orbital manoeuvres to lower its perigee (the point on its orbit closest to Earth), the satellite’s fuel tanks were emptied and its batteries disconnected by CNES teams in Toulouse. It is now stationed safely in an elliptical orbit at an altitude between 625 and 809.