COSMO-SkyMed: the collaboration between Italy and Poland is consolidated

(To Telespazio)
02/09/15

Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio have reached an agreement with Teledife (IT, Telematics and Advanced Technologies Directorate of the General Secretariat of the Italian Ministry of Defense) for the supply to the Polish Ministry of Defense of the ground segment (Polish Defense User Ground Segment - P-DUGS ) for the reception and processing of data and products of the Italian COSMO-SkyMed first and second generation satellites.

The contract was signed by Thales Alenia Space Italia as agent of a Temporary Business Grouping (RTI) of which Telespazio belongs as principal.
The participation of the Polish Ministry of Defense in the COSMO-SkyMed program, with the role of “International defense partner”, represents an important milestone for the Italian space industry.

The contract, worth around 30 million euros, is part of an agreement signed in 2012 by the two ministries of defense, Italian and Polish, for cooperation in the field of Earth observation. The agreement provides for Poland's participation in the second generation COSMO-SkyMed Program with a significant percentage, as well as the creation of the related user segment in Polish territory. In this context, Teledife acts as a contractual agency on behalf of the Polish Ministry of Defense.
The contract provides for the supply of the ground segment as a Polish access tool to the COSMO-SkyMed space system. The P-DUGS will be able to request images, receive satellite data and generate and archive products with different information content. The P-DUGS will therefore be an integral part of the ground infrastructure of the COSMO-SkyMed system by virtue of the characteristics of modularity and expandability with which it was designed and built.
The supply will take place in two phases. In the first, currently scheduled for late 2016 / early 2017, access to the first generation COSMO-SkyMed satellites will be ensured. With the second phase, scheduled between the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2019, access will also be extended to the second generation satellites.
The contract signed today is the first concrete step in cooperation between the Italian and Polish defenses in the space sector, and allows Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space to strengthen and consolidate their presence in Poland.

“This contract confirms Thales Alenia Space Italia's ability to build complex Space Systems as well as state-of-the-art Satellites” declared SVP Massimo Di Lazzaro, Head of Observation Programs at Thales Alenia Space Italia.

(in the photo the oasis of Kufra, in the south-east of Libya)