The Flight Control Team at ARGOTEC carried out the Pathfinder’s operations successfully. Telespazio, providing orbital determination services, played a crucial role during the critical Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP), operating from its Fucino Space Center.
LEOP is a critical phase right after the satellite launch, where the satellite's systems are gradually activated and tested to ensure everything is working properly. During this phase, the satellite is also maneuvered from its initial orbit to its final one, setting it up for long-term operations.
Following the successful completion of the LEOP phase, the satellite has entered the Commissioning phase, which prepares it for nominal operations, with Telespazio providing support from the Fucino Space Center. This phase focuses on system optimization to ensure it is ready to deliver the data expected from the IRIDE program.
The IRIDE program envisions the creation of a “constellation of constellations”, an end-to-end Earth Observation’s system consisting of satellites in low orbit (Upstream Segment), the operational infrastructure on the ground (Downstream Segment) and services intended for the Public Administration (Service Segment).
The constellation will leverage various observation techniques and feature state-of-the-art satellites, serving both institutions and national startups and industrial entities. Upon completion, expected by mid-2026, IRIDE will enable frequent revisits of every Italian location, with a ground sampling distance of approximately two meters. Together with other national and European space systems, this new constellation will support Public Administrations, starting with Civil Protection, in combating hydrogeological instability and wildfires, safeguarding coastlines, and monitoring critical infrastructure, air quality, and weather conditions.
In this framework, Telespazio is responsible for developing the FOS (Flight Operations Segment) and managing flight operations up to the Commissioning phase for the Nimbus and Platino missions, as well as developing the MOC (Mission Operations Center) for the EAGLET mission.