SAN FRANCISCO – D-Orbit will supply a small orbiting laboratory and test optical intersatellite links under the latest contracts awarded through Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Under a 6 million euro ($6.54 million) contract announced June 22, D-Orbit will verify the performance of optical intersatellite links for an Earth observation constellation called IRIDE, or International Report for Innovative Defense of Earth.
The low Earth orbit network includes imaging payloads to monitor Italy’s critical infrastructure, air quality and meteorological conditions. Italian startup Stellar Project is supplying laser communications technology to be tested onboard D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier.
Orbiting Lab
D-Orbit also won a contract with a value of approximately 4.8 million euros to work with the Italian Space Agency to establish the In-Orbit Space Lab. The space segment of the laboratory will be housed in an ION Satellite Carrier.
Geospatial data company Planetek Italia, the prime contractor for the In-Orbit Space Lab, will integrate the ground and space segments, and supply software. Aiko, an Italian firm focused on spacecraft artificial intelligence, will handle automation and data processing.
The In-Orbit Space Lab will have extensive on-orbit computing capability, Stefano Antonetti, D-Orbit vice president of business development and institutional sales, said in a statement. “Our ION Satellite Carrier has been designed to be a key element of such an infrastructure,” he added.
National Recovery Plan
Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, a billion-euro initiative to bolster the nation’s post-pandemic economy, has been a boon for space companies.
D-Orbit alone has claimed four multimillion contracts through the initiative.
“These contracts represent a great opportunity to take part in national projects that will mark historic milestones the space sector and cooperate with some of the most…
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