British company Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd has been awarded a ¿19.2 million (US$35M) contract by MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates (MDA) of Canada to supply the spacecraft platforms, integration and launch arrangements of a five-microsatellite constellation for high resolution Earth observation.
The five satellites will each provide 6.5-metre GSD multispectral Earth observation images, primarily for use in agricultural and cartographic information services. Major users of the data will be the insurance industry, utilising the data for risk modeling and claim assessment. Expansions to this core business include crop monitoring and mapping, quality management and subsidy control.
RapidEye is the world's first commercial Earth observation constellation. Conceived by the German company, RapidEye AG, the project has been made possible through the application of SSTL's low cost small satellites and opens a new and significant business sector for the space industry.
RapidEye AG has brought together MDA, SSTL and Jena Optronik of Germany for this mission. SSTL are responsible for the design and construction of the five satellite platforms, supporting the optical payloads that will image the Earth with a ground sampling distance of 6.5 metres in 5 spectral bands. The imaging payloads will be supplied by Jena Optronik and integrated by SSTL at the Surrey Space Centre. Each spacecraft will have a mass of about 150kg.
The satellite platforms, designed and manufactured by SSTL, will use the Company's latest advanced microsatellite avionics, a precision attitude orbit and control system with star tracker providing 30 degrees roll-offset for accurate image targeting, onboard propulsion for constellation station-keeping, a high-rate X-band data downlink, and a bi-directional S-band mission control subsystem. SSTL will also provide the Spacecraft Control Centre ground equipment for the mission.
The five RapidEye satellites will be launched into a 620 km sun synchronous orbit, becoming operational in 2007.
