Contract signed for Europe's global observer
Tuesday, 19 Jun 2007 12:19
Sentinel-1 will make observations for sea and ice mapping
A contract to build the first Earth observation satellite for Europe's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme has been signed.
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Thales Alenia Space signed the €229 million (£155 million) contract for its design and development yesterday.
Known as the European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinels, five satellites are planned to be built which can respond to the need to observe the Earth.
Sentinel-1 is expected to be launched in 2011 and will make important observations for sea-ice mapping and marine mapping, including vessel detection, oil-spill mapping and wind products.
The second and third satellites, slated for launch in 2012, will support land and ocean monitoring, and Sentinel-4 and 5 will be dedicated to meteorology and climatology.
Mr Volker Liebig, ESA's director of earth observation programmes, said the contract for Sentinel-1 will eventually benefit "environmental monitoring, sustainable development and resource management".
"GMES is the next logical step in the development of operational services under the European Commission to provide Europe with the environmental data to support political decisions as a global player, with particular emphasis on the issue of climate change," he added.
"With today's signature, we are another step closer towards the realisation of the GMES programme."