Arianespace wins Vega deal for Italian imaging satellite constellation
WASHINGTON — In a vote of self-confidence for a troubled launch motor vehicle, Arianespace received a agreement from the Italian government for up to three Vega C launches of an Earth observation constellation.
Arianespace declared March 14 it signed a deal with the European Place Agency, performing on behalf of the Italian government, for launching the IRIDE constellation of imaging satellites. The contract includes two company Vega C launches, starting off in late 2025, with an solution for a 3rd.
The IRIDE constellation, funded by the Italian government, will incorporate 36 satellites created by a consortium of Italian firms that will be geared up with a vary of imaging payloads, together with optical and radar. The constellation is named right after the Italian phrase for iris.
The price of the launch contract was not disclosed. The total IRIDE procedure, such as satellites, launch and ground techniques, is believed at 1.3 billion euros ($1.38 billion) and is funded by Italy’s National System for Recovery and Resilience, or PNRR, an initiative by the Italian government to support the country recuperate from the pandemic.
The announcement is the initial contract for the Vega C introduced given that the completion of the investigation into the December 2022 start failure on the vehicle’s 2nd mission, destroying two Airbus imaging satellites. That investigation concluded that a carbon-carbon component of the nozzle of the rocket’s second stage stable-fuel motor degraded following ignition, causing a reduction of thrust that doomed the rocket.
With this agreement “ESA repays the believe in of the Italian government when confirming its confidence in Arianespace and in the Vega C launch system,” claimed Simonetta Cheli, director of Earth observation at ESA, in a statement. ESA is supporting the Italian authorities on the progress of IRIDE.
Throughout a panel at the Satellite 2023 meeting here March 15, Stéphane Israël, chief government of Arianespace, verified designs introduced before in the month to return the Vega C to flight by the stop of the calendar year with launch of the Sentinel-1C radar imaging satellite for Europe’s Copernicus system. That will be preceded by a start of the primary Vega car or truck, most likely by late summer time.
“We are incredibly mobilized with our partners to make confident that Vega will be a results,” he said, referring to a crew that contains Avio, the primary contractor for Vega, as properly as ESA.
With this contract, he noted that Vega C’s backlog was now at 15 launches. He extra that there were being “commercial negotiations ongoing” for the car or truck as very well with unknown customers.
The start deal was just one of the few revealed through the meeting, which usually experienced served as a phase for saying significant satellite and start discounts. Colorado-dependent EOI Space, previously recognised as Earth Observant Inc., introduced March 14 it extended an previously agreement with SpaceX for rideshare launches of its Stingray constellation of imaging satellites.
EOI Place stated that it will now launch its initial six Stingray satellites, created to function in quite reduced Earth orbits to increase imaging resolution, on Transporter rideshare missions starting in 2024. The enterprise mentioned previous September it would launch its 1st satellite in 2023 on a Transporter mission.
“Demand for immediate transmissions of higher-resolution Earth imagery has skyrocketed in the latest many years,” said Christopher Thein, main govt of EOI Room, in a statement. “We’re proud to be pioneering our to start with satellites by way of SpaceX’s renowned rideshare method.”
EOI plans to in the long run start a 60-satellite constellation, but has not disclosed plans or schedules for deployment of that comprehensive constellation.