• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • News
  • Featured
  • More News ⌄
    • SatNews
    • SatMagazine
    • MilSatMagazine
  • Events ⌄
    • MilSat Symposium
    • SmallSat Symposium
    • Satellite Innovation
  • Contacts
  • SUBSCRIPTION

SmallSat News

You are here: Home / News / An EO Contract Received by QinetiQ from ESA for Smallsat Development

An EO Contract Received by QinetiQ from ESA for Smallsat Development

January 27, 2020 by editorial

QinetiQ’s space business has confirmed it has secured a major new contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to extend Europe’s capabilities in operational Earth Observation (EO).

The new 75 million euros contract will see the company develop and assemble the ALTIUS satellite at its new state-of-the-art cleanroom facilities in Kruibeke, in Belgium.

The Atmospheric Limb Tracker for Investigation of the Upcoming Stratosphere (ALTIUS) is a satellite mission that will monitor and map the distribution and evolution of stratospheric ozone at a very high vertical resolution. Due for launch from French Guyana by the end of 2023, the satellite will use advanced spectral imaging technologies to monitor the Earth’s atmospheric limb in the Near Ultraviolet, Visible, and Near Infrared spectral regions.


Artistic rendition of the ALTIUS satellite.

Image is courtesy of the European Space Agency.

ALTIUS is under the ESA Earth Watch Program, with the objective of developing new scientific EO satellite missions and data exploitation schemes to advance science and knowledge of the planet.

The ALTIUS satellite will be built on QinetiQ’s versatile P200 platform, the latest generation of the highly successful PROBA platform. It has demonstrated excellent performance on previous space missions and accumulated more than 35 years in orbit.

The new satellite will also feature QinetiQ’s ADPMS-3 avionics, two deployable solar wings and a propulsion system that will allow for orbit maintenance and will de-orbit at the end of its life. The mission lifetime is envisaged to be of minimum 3 years.


Pictured is an engineering view of QuinetiQ’s P200 platform.

Photo is courtesy of the company.

Jim Graham, Managing Director of QinetiQ’s space business, said the company is delighted to be playing such a key role on this important program. Detailed monitoring of stratospheric ozone is vital and will support both broader operational services as well as long-term trend monitoring and scientific understanding of the atmosphere to help address serious concerns about the Earth’s protective ozone layer.

By also measuring greenhouse gasses, it will help to produce definitive atmospheric models to support more informed decision-making. Securing this significant contract is a great way to start an exciting new decade for space exploration and observation, and reflects the firm’s capabilities and experience as a prime – managing a consortium of companies from Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, and Romania – and reliable systems integrator for delivering effective end-to-end mission solutions.

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019

© 2019–2025 SatNews

x
Sign Up Now!

Enjoy a free weekly newsletter with recent headlines from the global SmallSat industry.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing! You will now receive weekly SmallSat News updates.
We love our advertisers.
And you will too!

Please disable Ad Blocker to continue... We promise to keep it unobtrusive.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.