Thales Alenia Space wins €402 million contract from ESA

Thales Alenia Space Italy has been named the prime contractor for these new satellites, as it was for Sentinel-1A and 1B. It is responsible for the design, development and integration of Copernicus the Sentinel-1C and 1D satellites, which will feature a C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), as well as data management and transmission systems and onboard computer. Thales Alenia Space will supply the transmission/reception (T/R) modules and the front-end electronics, the heart of the C-band SAR antenna, which will be manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space to Thales Alenia Space's specifications. The Copernicus Sentinel-1C and 1D satellites, to be launched as from 2021, are part of the Copernicus environmental monitoring and management program coordinated by the European Commission, with ESA in charge of the space segment. The Copernicus Sentinel-1C and D satellites will be built on the Prima platform developed by Thales Alenia Space on behalf of the Italian space agency. They will each weigh about 2'300 kilograms at launch, and will be positioned at an altitude of 700 kilometers, offering a ground resolution of 5 to 25 meters, depending on the operating mode selected. "We are very proud to have won this major contract, since it confirms Thales Alenia Space Italy’s long-standing expertise in the construction of Earth observation satellites based on radar technology," said Donato Amoroso, Managing Director of Thales Alenia Space Italy and Deputy CEO of Thales Alenia Space. “Our selection also shows that we have the capabilities needed to meet this program's technological challenges, while contributing to Europe's environmental strategy now and in the future."