Telespazio Aims to Establish a Joint Venture with Turkish Partners

Telespazio, a joint venture between Finmeccanica (67%) and Thales (33%), is one of the world’s leading operators in satellite management services, Earth observation and satellite navigation, as well as in the field of integrated communications and scientific programmes. The Rome-based company employs around 2,500 staff. As well as in Italy, Telespazio is present in France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Eastern Europe and South America with space centres and operational sites. Notably, these include the Fucino Space Centre, which has more than 90 operational antennas, and is the largest satellite telecommunications centre in the world for civil use. Telespazio takes part in major European space programmes such as: Galileo, EGNOS, GMES and COSMO-SkyMed.

As Finmeccanica’s hub of expertise for space services, Telespazio is strongly interested in developing its commercial offer in the Turkish market by providing a range of products and applications for both the institutional and the business market. One of the first great successes for the company was winning the tender for the first Turkish Earth observation system, Göktürk.

The agreement signed in Ankara in 2009 between Telespazio and Turkey's Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM – Ministry of Defence) covers the construction of an Earth observation satellite equipped with a high-resolution optical sensor, to be launched in 2013. Telespazio will also build a satellite integration and testing centre in Turkey, as well as the entire ground segment for the system to carry out in-orbit operation and data acquisition and processing.

The Göktürk programme will be managed by Telespazio as prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space, a company owned by Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%), which will be responsible for the satellite, and local industrial partners including Tai A.S., Aselsan A.S., Tubitak Uekae, Roketsan A.S. and TR Tecnoloji. Telespazio will also be responsible for the satellite launch, early orbit and test services.

The Turkish industry will be involved at the system design and development phase and in supplying some sub-systems. In particular, local partners will assist in the building of the data acquisition Station, the satellite integration Centre, mission planning systems and remotely-sensed data processors. The Göktürk satellite will weight 1000 kg and will have an operational life of seven years.

Telespazio will establish a joint venture with local partners to develop and market Göktürk data and application services.

Based on the above achievement, Finmeccanica - through the companies Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space Italy, the world leader in SAR based Satellites - is the natural candidate to support Turkish Government and Industries for the next SAR Satellite program Gokturk 3.These companies can easily allow to integrate the future Gokturk 3 in the mission Control Centre and in the User Ground Center with a very important level of sinergies with the infrastructures of Göktürk and with a relevant saving.

Thanks to its wealth of experience in the Earth observation sector, Telespazio plays a leading role in the major international programmes. These include the European programme GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security), which will provide monitoring services for the environment and security, and COSMO-SkyMed, a programme run by the Italian Space Agency and Italy’s defence ministry, based on a constellation of four radar satellites that can operate in any atmospheric conditions.

With his subsidiary e-GEOS (80% Telespazio, 20% ASI), Telespazio carries out all Earth Observation commercial activities: from acquiring and processing satellite data, to the development and sale of software and products, as well as associated marketing activities. e-GEOS markets COSMO-SkyMed data worldwide through application services developed for sectors such as Border Control, Site Monitoring, Change Detection and Maritime Surveillance.

In particular, the COSMO-SkyMed constellation is used for producing cartography of extremely large areas and for the purposes of monitoring and data acquisition 24 hours a day in all weather conditions. Geospatial intelligence applications include local monitoring, which can accurately highlight the condition of critical infrastructure such as industrial plants, railway lines and nuclear plants. The data are generated in the form of detailed maps of the areas of interest, highlighting any changes, however small, in the objects observed.

In addition, COSMO-SkyMed satellites are used in border control and the monitoring of communication routes (rail and road) to obtain information on illegal traffic and activity.

The data acquired by the COSMO-SkyMed radar satellites are also used to detect ships at sea and to measure their speed and direction. Repeated observation, thanks to the extremely frequent revisit times of the constellation's four satellites, can contribute to a maritime surveillance system that also integrates information from coastal radar systems and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS). The use of satellite images enables oil spills to be rapidly identified, allowing the authorities to intervene promptly and identify the parties responsible.

Lastly, in the event of natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods, COSMO-SkyMed radar data provide the authorities with updated maps of the affected region, with accurate information on the conditions of the communication routes, which can assist rescue operations.