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ESA chooses the e-GEOS Matera Space Centre to support the operations of the Sentinel 1 and 2 satellites of the European GMES space programme.

(Matera, July 18, 2012) e-GEOS has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide, from the Matera Space Centre, satellite data acquisition and processing services in support of the operations of the first two satellites of the Sentinel constellation

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Data from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 will be used in the European Union’s space-based Earth observation programme GMES

The contract, awarded to e-GEOS following an invitation to tender put out by ESA in 2011, which received bids from all the major European players in the sector, has a duration of seven years and is worth €10,000,000.

The agreement provides for acquisition services in X-Band as well as the installation and operation of the Payload Data Ground Segment (PDGS). This will allow the reception, processing and archiving of Sentinel satellite data.

The choice of Matera represents a significant recognition of the competence and experience developed by the Space Centre over twenty years of activity with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), ESA and commercial operators.

The launch of Sentinel 1 – during 2013 – and then Sentinel 2 will mark the beginning of systematic and continuous radar and optical imager of the entire globe, with data processing times of less than three hours to guarantee monitoring services for the environment and security.

The large archive of data that will be produced will represent a unique and irreplaceable resource for the creation of operational services for the public administration and crisis management.

Press release (English)

  • Sentinel-1 is a polar-orbiting, all-weather, day-and-night radar imaging mission for land and ocean services. The first Sentinel-1 satellite is planned for launch in 2013.
  • Sentinel-2 is a polar-orbiting, multispectral high-resolution imaging mission for land monitoring providing, for example, imagery of vegetation, soil and water cover, inland waterways and coastal areas. Sentinel-2 will also deliver information for emergency services. The first Sentinel-2 satellite is planned for launch in 2013.