Andreas Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, 1661

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dimanche 28 mars 2010

ORFEO: French-Italian cooperation on an Earth observation program

ORFEO (Optical and Radar Federated Earth Observation) is an Earth observation dual satellite system, composed of an optical component, Pleiades and a radar component, Cosmo-SkyMed. In the context of a French-Italian cooperation, the optical system Pleiades is developed by the French Space Agency while the radar system Cosmo-SkyMed is placed under the responsibility of the Italian Space Agency. The Orfeo program is governed by the Treaty of Turin, of February 2007.
The objective of the Pleiades program is to provide a new generation of optical images of the Earth, in order to better respond to European civilian and military needs. This program will allow its civilian users (cartographers, volcanologist, geophysicists, hydrologists, architects, etc) and military users quick access to a very rich array of precise images. The program is led in cooperation with Sweden, Belgium, Spain and Austria. Due to the fact that the program is intended for both civilian and military use, it is financed in part by the Ministry of Defense. The total cost of it is 314 billion Euros. As far as the space industry is concerned, EADS-Astrium deals with the construction of the space segment at their facilities in Toulouse, while Thales Alenia Space develops the optical instrument of Pleiades at the Cannes Space Center.
Cosmo-SkyMed (Constellation of small Satellites for the Mediterranean basin Observation) is an Earth observation dual satellite system, intended, just like Pleiades, for a civilian and military use. Four satellites equipped with radar sensors will provide high resolution images that will be easily accessible, precise and regularly updated. Its application services will contribute significantly to the defense of the territory in areas such as fire, landslides, droughts, floods, pollution, earthquakes and subsidence, management of natural resources in agriculture and forestry, as well as monitoring of urban sprawl. From an industrial point of view, the program was assigned to the French-Italian companies Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio but also to a high number of small and medium sized enterprises.

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