MILAN – Thales Alenia Space and Argotec announced contracts Oct. 16 to supply satellites for Italy’s IRIDE Earth-observation constellation.
Thales Alenia Space will contribute six radar satellites and Argotec will provide 15 optical satellites, under contracts announced at the International Astronautical Congress here. The total value of the two contracts is more than 140 million euros ($152 million).
IRIDE, a project funded by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan and managed by the European Space Agency and the Italian space agency ASI, is an ambitious campaign to launch Europe’s largest Earth-observation constellation.
Radar Satellites
Prior to the announcement, Thales Alenia Space was under contract to build 6 synthetic aperture radar satellites and one optical satellite for IRIDE.
“Leveraging our experience onboard major Earth observation programs, we are ready to reinforce our capabilities in the small satellite segment,” Giampiero Di Paolo, Thales Alenia Space senior vice president for Observation, Exploration and Navigation, said in a statement. “Based on a series of sensing instruments and technologies, the IRIDE constellation will range from microwave imaging with radar sensors to optical imaging at various spatial resolutions and in different frequency ranges, making it a cutting-edge space program in Earth Observation.”
Argotec’s SpacePark
Argotec, meanwhile, has nearly completed construction of the first batch of 10 satellites its supplying for IRIDE. The Argotec satellites, with a mass of about 70 kilograms, are equipped with computers for on-orbit image processing. Applications for the imagery include land use, coastal protection, precision agriculture and defense.
Argotec plans to produce the next 15 IRIDE satellites in SpacePark, its facility near Turin scheduled to open Oct. 18.
“We are extremely proud to once again be at the forefront of this strategic program for the entire Italian space sector,” Argotec CEO David Avino said in a statement. “We have proven once again that we are able to manufacture, validate and deliver excellent products in record time. For us, the signing of this second contract is further recognition of Argotec’s reliability and efficiency.”
The first IRIDE satellites are scheduled to launch in 2025.
“Thanks to the synergy between the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, the programme is progressing according to plan,” Simonetta Cheli, ESA Earth Observation Programmes director, said in a statement.
