Airborne Composites has been awarded the contract for the delivery of solar substrate panels for the Sentinel-2 satellite. Airborne now supplies the solar panels for both Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2. These satellites are part of the international Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program of the European Union and ESA. Both contracts have been closed with Dutch Space, a leading space company in the Netherlands. The prime contractors for the satellite platforms are Thales Alenia Space in Italy for Sentinel-1 and Astrium in Germany for Sentinel-2. The launch of the first Sentinel-1 satellite is scheduled for late 2011, that of Sentinel-2 in 2012.

The GMES initiative focuses on the observation of the earth with the use of satellites in space and facilities on earth, at sea and in the air to provide environmental and safety information.As part of the GMES program ESA develops five large satellites called Sentinel, which means "gatekeeper". Each Sentinel focuses on one specific aspect of Earth observation. Sentinel-1 is a radar satellite and will continuously provide critical data for operational services such as mapping of inhabited areas and the impact on the environment, monitoring of movements of the earth's surface, inspecting the marine environment, monitoring the Arctic and forests, management of water and floods, global services for food safety and humanitarian aid in crisis situations.

The Sentinel-2 satellite will continuously provide high-resolution images delivered in different band widths. Every ten days the satellite scans any point on Earth. The comprehensive data from these measurements provide information about vegetation, earth and water cover, inland and coastal areas. The data will also be used to observe natural disasters such as floods, volcanic eruptions and landslides.

More information about the GMES program and the Sentinel satellites can be found on the ESA website.

For more information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Bussines Manager Space.