Made in Italy in space: seven satellites of the Iride constellation in orbit
The Falcon 9 launch followed by the Argotec Mission Control Centre in San Mauro Torinese, the company that built the satellites as part of the programme supported by the Italian government and coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA), with the support of the Italian Space Agency (Asi)
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For Italy, and for Europe, this is an absolute record, the simultaneous launch of seven satellites belonging to the same constellation, IRIDE, by Argotec, the Turin-based industrial partner of the programme supported by the Italian government and coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA), with the support of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The HEO satellites were launched at 11.25pm on Monday 23 June, after two postponements due to weather problems, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. A few hours after the launch, Argotec's Mission Control Centre in San Mauro Torinese acquired the signal that confirmed the satellites were working properly.
The IRIDE satellite constellation is financed with an investment of more than one billion (PNRR funds plus other resources from national funds). It is a 'constellation of constellations', consisting of heterogeneous satellites in terms of technology and capacity, intended for monitoring natural events, observing climate change, and mapping critical security infrastructures. The goal is to create Italy's most important Earth observation constellation and one of the largest in Europe.
The new HEO - Hawk for Earth Observation - satellites join Pathfinder, the first satellite in the IRIDE constellation, which was launched on 14 January and took the first image of the current mission. "IRIDE's first constellation materialises with the launch of these satellites, which join Pathfinder, already launched in January, for a total of eight satellites in orbit," explains Simonetta Cheli, Director of ESA's Earth Observation programmes and of ESA's ESRIN centre. "This milestone represents an important step for the IRIDE programme, whose satellite data will be able to support the protection of our planet, resource management and global security.
IRIDE is the result of a collaboration between the Italian government, ESA, the Italian Space Agency and a large part of the Italian space industry, in addition to Argotec, Officina Stellare and Exprivia, among others. "I would like to mention that soon new IRIDE constellations, made by other industrial groups, will be sent into space, further expanding the programme's capabilities. With this mission, we are once again demonstrating our ability to put technology at the service of mankind to support the most pressing challenges."
