It is full steam ahead for Italy's
1.1 billion euros project IRIDE to create a new constellation of
satellites for Earth observation offering on-demand services to
meet market and public administration requirements.
Following the awarding of the contracts, the goal now is to put
the more than 60 satellites into orbit by 2025 and have them
operational the following year.
IRIDE is being implemented by Italy under the supervision of the
European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI)
in the framework of the EU-funded post-Covid National Recovery
and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
"Today the Iride project becomes a reality," said Minister for
Business and Made in Italy, with responsibility for space and
aerospace policies, Adolfo Urso, at the event organized at the
headquarters of the Center for Earth Observation (Esrin) of the
European Space Agency (Esa).
"It is a result that represents the first achievement set out
under the NRRP," the minister added.
IRIDE is one of Italy's most ambitious space programmes,
involving the development of a constellation of small and
medium-sized satellites capable of observing the Earth using
different technologies (optical, multispectral and radar), with
a high frequency and a particular focus on the Mediterranean.
"It is a constellation of small constellations," each
specializing in one area of observation, said Simonetta Cheli,
head of the ESA's Earth Observation Directorate.
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