Optsat-3000 Earth Observation satellite for Italy's Ministry of Defence is ready to be launched

Kourou (French Guyana)  31 July 2017

The Italian Ministry of Defence’s OPTSAT-3000 satellite is ready to be launched on August 2 at 1.58 UTC from the Guiana Space Center (French Guiana). OPTSAT-3000 consists of a satellite in a sun-synchronous LEO (Low Earth Orbit) orbit and of a ground segment for in-orbit control and for data acquisition and processing.

OPTSAT-3000 will provide high-resolution images of any part of the globe, providing Italy with an autonomous national capability of Earth observation from space with a high-resolution optical sensor.

The whole system is supplied by Leonardo through its joint venture Telespazio. As prime contractor, Telespazio leads an international group of companies including, among others, Israel Aerospace Industries(IAI), which built the satellite within an international co-operation agreement between Italy and Israel as well as OHB Italia that will be responsible for the launch, which will use the VEGA European launcher, produced by AVIO.

The ground segment is located over three operation centres: the Joint Satellite Remote Survey Centre (CITS – Centro Interforze di Telerilevamento Satellitare) in Pratica di Mare, the SICRAL Joint Management and Control Centre (CIGC - Centro Interforze di Gestione e Controllo) in Vigna di Valle and the Fucino Space Centre of Telespazio.

Starting in 2018, OPTSAT-3000 will jointly operate with the secondgeneration COSMO-SkyMed system of radar satellites – which has also been developed by Italian industry, with Leonardo and its joint ventures, Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio – integrating optical and radar data to provide the Italian Ministry of Defence with information characterised by extreme accuracy, resolution and capability and with state-of-the-art analysis and operational tools.

 

Other News & Stories

05.06.2025
Latin American Space Agencies Visit the Fucino Space Centre

Today Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre hosted representatives from the space agencies of the IILA (Italo-Latin American Institute) member countries, as part of the IV Meeting of Space Agencies, organized in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

04.06.2025
Launch of the Honors Program at the Fucino Space Centre: training young talent for the space sector

The Honors Program of the Space Camp – Dai Banchi alle stelle project officially kicked off today at Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre. The initiative, supported by the Fondo per la Repubblica Digitale – Impresa Sociale, is promoted by Italiacamp and developed in collaboration with Telespazio, Innovalley, and three high schools in the Abruzzo region: “Alessandro Volta” (Pescara), “Luigi Savoia” (Chieti), and “Ettore Majorana” (Avezzano), with scientific input from the British Interplanetary Society.

27.05.2025
European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, and the Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, visit Telespazio's Fucino Space Centre

The European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, and the Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, visited yesterday the Fucino Space Centre of Telespazio.

19.05.2025
At MAXXI Rome, the exhibition “Mediterranea. Visions of an ancient and complex sea”

From May 17 to August 31, the EXTRA space of the National Museum of 21st Century Arts (MAXXI) hosts the exhibition organized by Fondazione MAXXI and the Med-Or Italian Foundation, in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, Telespazio, e-GEOS, and the European Space Agency. The project is promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Culture.

05.06.2025
Latin American Space Agencies Visit the Fucino Space Centre

Today Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre hosted representatives from the space agencies of the IILA (Italo-Latin American Institute) member countries, as part of the IV Meeting of Space Agencies, organized in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

04.06.2025
Launch of the Honors Program at the Fucino Space Centre: training young talent for the space sector

The Honors Program of the Space Camp – Dai Banchi alle stelle project officially kicked off today at Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre. The initiative, supported by the Fondo per la Repubblica Digitale – Impresa Sociale, is promoted by Italiacamp and developed in collaboration with Telespazio, Innovalley, and three high schools in the Abruzzo region: “Alessandro Volta” (Pescara), “Luigi Savoia” (Chieti), and “Ettore Majorana” (Avezzano), with scientific input from the British Interplanetary Society.

27.05.2025
European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, and the Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, visit Telespazio's Fucino Space Centre

The European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, and the Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, visited yesterday the Fucino Space Centre of Telespazio.

19.05.2025
At MAXXI Rome, the exhibition “Mediterranea. Visions of an ancient and complex sea”

From May 17 to August 31, the EXTRA space of the National Museum of 21st Century Arts (MAXXI) hosts the exhibition organized by Fondazione MAXXI and the Med-Or Italian Foundation, in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, Telespazio, e-GEOS, and the European Space Agency. The project is promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Culture.