The development of Iride, the constellation of low orbit satellites, represents an important step for the European aerospace industry. And so the companies begin to organize themselves. In this context, the Osiride consortium was born, consisting of D-Orbit, Exprivia, Planetek Italia and Serco Italia, for the development of innovative solutions for satellites for the future Earth observation program supported by ESA, the European Space Agency.
The consortium will produce ideas, projects and solutions, as well as favor the birth of startups and innovative approaches for the development of the new satellite constellation. And it will be open to the ecosystem of SMEs and startups throughout Italy, contributing to the growth of aerospace districts.
The four partner companies of Osiride are specialized in different segments of the Earth observation sector: D-Orbit, a company from Como, operates in the sector of space logistics and transport services, Exprivia, a company from Molfetta (Bari), works in and in corporate software solutions for public and private customers, Planetek Italia, also from Bari, operates in the development of services and analytics derived from Earth observation, finally Serco Italia of Rome is active in Earth observation and has a long experience in designing and operating infrastructures for the management of satellite data.
Iride – the name was chosen in a competition open to schools and was announced last spring by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti – is the most important European space program for low-altitude Earth observation and plays an important role in the NextGenerationEU program dedicated to the development of space activities, to support the ecological and digital transition. The program will create a system for geospatial services – at national and European level – capable of including all components (upstream, downstream and services), intended for both public administration and private individuals.
Iride will be composed of a constellation of 36 satellites, of different types and sizes, which combine SAR, optical, panchromatic, hyperspectral and infrared sensors. The constellation will be built in Italy and will be completed by 2026 with the support of the European and Italian Space Agency for a total value of 1.3 billion euros, allocated under the NRP.