Fri, Apr 17, 2009
Pair Of SAOCOM Earth Observation Satellites To Fly
2012-2013
Space Exploration Technologies tells ANN the company has signed
an agreement with CONAE, Argentina's National Commission on Space
Activity, for two launches aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 medium-to-heavy
lift vehicle.
The flights will send the SAOCOM 1A and 1B Earth observation
satellites into sun-synchronous orbits, where they will provide
imagery for natural resources monitoring, as well as emergency and
disaster management.
The identical SAOCOM satellites each carry an L-band Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument. Among other civil applications,
the main purpose of the constellation is the measurement of the
soil moisture over the Pampa Húmeda in Argentina. The two
SAOCOM satellites will join four X-band SAR COSMO-SkyMed satellites
from the Italian Space Agency (ASI), creating the Italian-Argentine
System of Satellites for Emergency Management (SIASGE)
constellation. The first three of the ASI satellites were launched
in 2007 and 2008 with the fourth expected to fly in 2010.
"SpaceX is excited to be CONAE's launch service provider for the
SAOCOM 1A and 1B missions," said Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX.
"The Falcon 9 launch vehicle has been designed to the highest level
of reliability and performance; we look forward to helping ensure
the success of the SAOCOM satellites."
The inaugural flight of Falcon 9 is scheduled for this year,
with the first Dragon spacecraft scheduled to fly on a subsequent
launch, both from SpaceX's launch facility at Cape Canaveral,
FL.
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