Argotec’s mission control room in Italy 

Italy’s IRIDE Earth observation programme has added seven more satellites to its Hawk for Earth Observation (HEO) constellation, enhancing the services it provides for Italy’s environmental, emergency and security services. 

The launch took place on Sunday, 3 May, at 09:00 CEST on board a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, bringing the total number of IRIDE satellites in orbit to 31. 

The seven newly launched HEO satellites were developed by Argotec. An important indication of launch success – the communications signal from each of the satellites – was confirmed a few hours after launch at Argotec’s mission control centre in Italy.  

Read full story: Italy’s Earth monitoring programme reaches new milestone