IRIDE
IRIDE (Italian: Iniziativi di Resilienza per l'Italia Dalle Emergenze, Initiatives for Italy's Resilience from Emergencies) is an Italian Earth observation satellite programme developed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and the National Complementary Plan (NCP). Coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), IRIDE aims to establish a comprehensive satellite constellation for environmental monitoring, disaster management, civil protection, security, and public administration support. The programme, involving over 73 Italian companies, is set to be fully operational by June 2026 and is designed as a "constellation of constellations" with advanced sensor technologies.
| Mission type | Earth observation |
|---|---|
| Operator | ASI, ESA |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Argotec (MS2-HEO) OHB Italia (MS1-EAGLET2) SITAEL S.p.A (HYP-PLATINO) Thales Alenia Space (SAR-NIMBUS & VHR-NIMBUS) D-Orbit (SAR-NOX) |
| Launch mass | 70 kg (150 lb) (MS2-HEO) 580 kg (1,280 lb) (SAR-NOX) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | First: 14 January 2025 (IRIDE-MS2-HEO 1) Last (recent): 30 March 2026 (IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 9-16) |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 Vega-C |
| Launch site | Vandenberg, SLC-4E Kourou, ELV |
| Contractor | SpaceX Arianespace/Avio |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit |
IRIDE (Italian: Iniziativi di Resilienza per l'Italia Dalle Emergenze, Initiatives for Italy's Resilience from Emergencies) is an Italian Earth observation satellite programme developed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and the National Complementary Plan (NCP). Coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), IRIDE aims to establish a comprehensive satellite constellation for environmental monitoring, disaster management, civil protection, security, and public administration support. The programme, involving over 73 Italian companies, is set to be fully operational by June 2026 and is designed as a "constellation of constellations" with advanced sensor technologies.[1][2][3]
Satellite Technologies
[edit]IRIDE's constellation is built on multiple platforms, enabling high-revisit rates, all-weather/day-night imaging, and versatile applications:
1) Hawk for Earth observation (HEO) platform, developed by Argotec involved in manufacturing 25 IRIDE satellites.[4]
2) EAGLET2 platform, developed by OHB Italia involved in manufacturing 24 IRIDE satellites.[5]
3) PLATINO bus, developed by SITAEL S.p.A with Hyperspectral Imaging payloads from Leonardo involved in manufacturing 5 IRIDE Satellites.[6]
4) NIMBUS platform, developed by Thales Alenia Space involved in manufacturing 12 SAR and one VHR IRIDE satellite[7][8]
5) one IRIDE-SAR-NOX satellite developed by D-Orbit for the IRIDE programme[9][10]
Launch history
[edit]| Name | SATCAT | Launch
date (UTC) |
Launch
vehicle |
Inclination | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRIDE-MS2-HEO 1[11][12][13] | 62697 | 14 January
2025 |
Falcon 9 Block 5
Transporter-12 |
98° | Operational |
| IRIDE-MS2-HEO 2[14] | 64569 | 23 June
2025 |
Falcon 9 Block 5
Transporter-14 |
Operational | |
| IRIDE-MS2-HEO 3 | 64568 | Operational | |||
| IRIDE-MS2-HEO 4 | 64582 | Operational | |||
| IRIDE-MS2-HEO 5 | 64571 | Operational | |||
| IRIDE-MS2-HEO 6 | 64576 | Operational | |||
| IRIDE-MS2-HEO 8 | 64587 | Operational | |||
| IRIDE-MS2-HEO 9 | 64585 | Operational | |||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 1[15] | 28 November 2025 | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Operational | ||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 2 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 3 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 4 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 5 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 6 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 7 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 8 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 9 | 30 March
2026 |
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Operational | ||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 10 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 11 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 12 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 13 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 14 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 15 | Operational | ||||
| IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 16 | Operational |
See also
[edit]- Italian Space Agency
- European Space Agency
- Atlantic Constellation
- List of European Space Agency programmes and missions
References
[edit]- ^ "IRIDE". www.telespazio.com. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "Moving ahead with Italy's constellation of Earth observation satellites". www.esa.int. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ Parsonson, Andrew (14 April 2025). "Italy Moves Ahead With Study for 100-Satellite Constellation". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "IRIDE-MS2-HEO 1, ..., 25". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "IRIDE-MS1-EAGLET2 1, ..., 25". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "IRIDE-HYP-PLATINO 1, ..., 5". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "IRIDE-SAR-NIMBUS 1, ..., 12". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "IRIDE-VHR-NIMBUS 1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "IRIDE-SAR-NOX 1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "ESA orders 6 additional radar-based satellites to Thales Alenia Space for IRIDE Earth observation constellation | Thales Alenia Space". www.thalesaleniaspace.com. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "Italy's IRIDE programme marks major step with first satellite constellation". www.esa.int. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ Parsonson, Andrew (28 March 2025). "Italy's IRIDE Pathfinder Satellite Beams Back First Views of Earth". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "Falcon 9 Block 5 | Transporter 12". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "Falcon 9 Block 5 | Transporter 14". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "Falcon 9 Block 5 | Transporter 15". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "Italian mission adds to growing IRIDE space fleet". www.esa.int. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Watch: HydroGNSS, IRIDE and Greek mission satellites launch". www.esa.int. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
- ^ "Eight more satellites added to IRIDE space programme". www.esa.int. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
- ^ "SpaceX". SpaceX. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
- ^ Gorman, Douglas (30 March 2026). "Transporter-16 Sends 119 Payloads to Orbit". Payload. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
- ^ D'Urso, Andrea (30 March 2026). "Partita la missione Transporter-16. A bordo, anche altri 8 satelliti italiani IRIDE". AstroSpace (in Italian). Retrieved 30 March 2026.
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Future missions in italics
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