Eight new satellites in orbit: Italy’s IRIDE program expands the network for Earth monitoring
Italy’s Earth observation program IRIDE has received another eight satellites, bringing the total number of spacecraft in orbit to 24. The new expansion was carried out with a launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-16 mission, which lifted off on March 30, 2026, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. According to the Italian space agency ASI and Transporter-16 mission data, this marks a new stage in one of Europe’s largest Earth observation projects, a system the Italians are developing as a tool for environmental monitoring, spatial management, maritime security and emergency situations.
The new satellites belong to the Eaglet II constellation, the second of a total of six constellations that will make up the entire IRIDE system. After this launch, Eaglet II has 16 satellites in orbit, while the final plan is for that constellation to grow to 24 spacecraft. This brings the Italian program closer to its ambitious goal of full operational deployment by 2027. The European Space Agency ESA states that the overall system currently under development consists of a total of 68 satellites, distributed across radar and optical constellations for different purposes.
For Italy, this is not just another launch in a series, but also confirmation that national space investments from the post-pandemic period are being transformed into a concrete infrastructure system. IRIDE is financed with funds from the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan, better known as the PNRR, along with additional national funding. In practice, this means the space program is conceived not only as a technologically prestigious project, but as a platform that should provide operational data to state institutions and public services for decision-making.
What the new Eaglet II satellites bring
Each of the eight newly launched satellites is equipped with a high-resolution multispectral optical sensor and an AIS system, or Automatic Identification System, used for collecting and processing maritime traffic data. According to ASI and OHB Italia, the combination of optical observation and AIS is especially important for monitoring coastal areas, tracking ship traffic and enabling faster responses in security or environmental incidents at sea. In a country like Italy, with a long coastline, dense traffic in the Mediterranean and numerous infrastructure and tourist zones along the sea, such a system has both economic and security value.
The optical instruments aboard the Eaglet II satellites observe the Earth’s surface in the visible part of the spectrum and provide imagery with a resolution of approximately two meters. This is precise enough for a large number of operational applications, from monitoring changes in land use to assessing conditions after floods, fires or landslides. In addition, OHB Italia states that the satellites are designed for low-latency data transmission in the X-band, which is important when information must be delivered quickly to centers managing crisis situations or analyzing conditions on the ground.
Technically speaking, these are very small satellites. Each weighs about 25 kilograms, is comparable in size to a larger household microwave oven, and has a planned operational lifetime of at least three years. The spacecraft will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit, at altitudes that for IRIDE optical constellations range approximately between 460 and 600 kilometers, while OHB Italia data for Eaglet II indicate an orbit of around 467 kilometers. Such an orbit enables consistent lighting conditions when passing over the same areas, which is crucial for comparing images over time and for reliable multitemporal analyses.
Mission confirmed just a few hours after liftoff
One of the first indicators of the success of any space mission is confirmation that contact has been established with the satellites after separation in orbit. According to information published by ESA, ASI and OHB Italia, the signal from all the new satellites was confirmed a few hours after launch at the mission control center in Rome. This completed the initial and most sensitive phase of bringing the spacecraft into the operational cycle.
This is followed by the commissioning process, that is, switching on, checking and calibrating the instruments in orbit. This is the period during which it is verified whether the communication systems, optical sensors and supporting subsystems are operating within designed parameters. Only once that process is completed do the new satellites enter regular use and begin filling the geospatial database on which the entire IRIDE rests. In this phase, the actual image quality, transmission speed and ability of all satellites within one constellation to work in a coordinated manner are often also confirmed.
The importance of this step increases further in systems such as IRIDE, because this is not about a single spacecraft, but about a network of several different constellations that must operate as a single whole. A successful launch is therefore not just a separate technical event, but also a prerequisite for Italy to gradually establish its own national architecture of satellite Earth observation with an operational, and not merely experimental, character.
IRIDE as a “constellation of constellations”
According to ESA and ASI, IRIDE is not conceived as one classic satellite network, but as a system of six constellations with different types of sensors. Two will use radar instruments with synthetic aperture, and four optical sensors, including multispectral and hyperspectral systems. It is precisely this combination of optical and radar observations that gives the project particular weight, because it enables the monitoring of various phenomena on land, at sea and on infrastructure under different conditions, including night, clouds or bad weather in the case of radar instruments.
ESA states that the whole will include the constellations Nimbus SAR, NOX SAR, Nimbus VHR, PLATiNO-Hyperspectral, Hawk for Earth Observation, also known as HEO, and Eaglet II. HEO is the first IRIDE constellation already in orbit and currently numbers eight satellites, while Eaglet II has 16 after the new launch. When future spacecraft that still have to lift off are added to all these elements, it becomes clear why both ESA and ASI describe the system as one of the most complex and comprehensive Earth observation programs in Europe.
The Italian agency particularly emphasizes that the collected data do not stop at the satellites. IRIDE also includes ground infrastructure for the reception, processing and distribution of geospatial information. In other words, the value of the project lies not only in the number of satellites, but in the ability for raw data to become maps, analyses, alerts and services that public administration can use in real time or near real time.
What the data will be used for
Practical application is one of the most convincing arguments in favor of the IRIDE program. According to official descriptions by ESA and ASI, data from the system will be used for monitoring ground movement, land cover and land use, water resource management, coastal and sea surveillance, assessments in emergency situations, and a range of security and environmental services. In the Italian case, this opens the door to very broad use, from monitoring areas sensitive to landslides and earthquakes to tracking droughts, floods, fires and conditions on coastal routes.
It is especially important that IRIDE is not limited exclusively to state institutions in the narrow sense. ASI states that the system will also support the development of commercial applications based on satellite data, including startups, small and medium-sized enterprises, and industrial sectors that need analytical information from space. This means the project, in addition to being positioned as security and environmental infrastructure, is also being set up as a possible driver of new economic activity in the segment of space data, geoinformatics and digital services.
In the European context, this fits into a broader trend of turning space infrastructure into a tool of everyday state and economic management. Satellite images are no longer reserved only for scientific missions or defense needs. They serve for spatial planning, monitoring traffic flows, assessing damage after disasters, managing agriculture, analyzing water cycles and tracking climate change. That is precisely why IRIDE is being built as a service system, and not as a one-off technological demonstrator.
Continuity of launches and the project’s political message
The recent launch also carries symbolic weight because it confirms the continuity that IRIDE managed to achieve during 2025 and 2026. The program’s first satellite, HEO Pathfinder, was launched on January 14, 2025. Then, on June 23, 2025, seven additional HEO satellites were launched, bringing the first constellation to eight spacecraft. At the end of November 2025, the first group of eight Eaglet II satellites also went into orbit. Now, on March 30, 2026, a second group of eight has been added, doubling Eaglet II to 16 satellites and raising the entire IRIDE to 24 spacecraft in orbit.
Such a pace lends credibility to claims that Italy is steering the project toward full deployment by 2027. At the same time, it shows that the PNRR, which in many member states of the European Union is often viewed primarily through reforms, construction projects or the digitalization of public administration, in the Italian case is also financing very concrete space capabilities. The value of the program, according to official data, exceeds one billion euros when funds from the PNRR, complementary mechanisms and national financing are added together.
That dimension also gives the project a political character. IRIDE is proof that space policy in Europe is no longer conducted only at the level of major joint initiatives, but also through national programs that, with European coordination, build their own operational autonomy. The Italian state does not hide that it considers the project a strategic tool for the environment, security, infrastructure management and the development of a high-technology industrial base.
The roles of ESA, ASI and industry
The institutional architecture of the project shows how IRIDE is at the same time both a national and a European program. ESA coordinates implementation, ASI provides institutional and technical support, and the development and operational segment rely on a network of Italian industrial partners. In the case of Eaglet II, the key role is played by OHB Italia, which is responsible for the design, development, testing and operational management of the satellites, as well as for the associated flight operations segment.
Alongside OHB Italia, official announcements to date have also mentioned partners such as Telespazio, Optec and Aresys, showing that the program is not concentrated in a single company, but functions as an industrial chain with several specialized stakeholders. Such a model has a double effect. On the one hand, it accelerates the construction of a complex system through the distribution of work, and on the other, it encourages the technological strengthening of the domestic space industry, which is an important industrial and development lever for Italy.
That is precisely why the official statements of ESA, ASI and OHB Italia leaders after the launch were not focused only on the fact that the rocket lifted off successfully. The emphasis was on cooperation, meeting deadlines and turning a strategic vision into operational capability. In the language of space policy, that means the system is no longer an abstract plan on paper, but infrastructure that is gradually moving into real use.
Why sea surveillance is especially important
One of the most noticeable specific features of the Eaglet II satellites is that, in addition to the optical payload, they also carry AIS equipment. This is not a technical detail without broader significance. AIS is used in maritime affairs for the identification, positioning and tracking of ships, and when integrated into a satellite system, it enables traffic monitoring far beyond the range of ground receivers. For a country like Italy, whose security, trade, energy and tourism largely depend on the sea, such a capability has direct operational value.
Satellite AIS can help monitor dense maritime routes, detect unusual movements, assess incident situations and improve management of coastal space. When high-resolution optical images are added to this, the result is a powerful tool for linking vessel data with the visual situation at sea and along the coast. This can be useful in a range stretching from civil protection and pollution monitoring to port management and support for services responsible for navigation safety.
In the wider Mediterranean context, where trade routes, fishing activities, tourist traffic and sensitive environmental systems overlap, precisely this kind of integrated observation is becoming increasingly important. That is why Eaglet II is not just an “optical” constellation, but also an instrument that gives Italy a denser and operationally more useful picture of its own maritime space.
What follows until 2027
According to official information from ESA and ASI, IRIDE will continue to expand gradually, through new launches of the remaining constellations and additional satellites. For Eaglet II, this means that during 2026 one more group of eight satellites should be added, bringing that constellation to the planned 24 spacecraft. In parallel, the other radar and optical components of the system will also be developed so that the full architecture is deployed by 2027.
If that schedule is maintained, Italy will in the next year and a half gain an exceptionally broad capability for independently collecting and processing data about its own territory, sea and infrastructure. This does not mean it will stop using European or international satellite sources, but it does mean it will have a stronger national instrument for faster and more precise responses in areas ranging from civil protection to economic planning.
That is precisely where the real significance of the latest launch lies. Eight new satellites are not merely an increase in the number in orbit, but a step toward an operational system that in the coming years could become one of the key tools of Italian public administration, environmental policy and the space industry. At a time when data from space are increasingly becoming an everyday instrument of state governance, IRIDE is emerging as a project through which Italy is trying to combine technological development, public interest and long-term strategic autonomy.
Sources:- ESA – official overview of the IRIDE program, its mission, constellations and the plan for full deployment by 2027 (link)- ESA – official overview of the satellites and system architecture, including six constellations and the information that a total of 68 satellites are under development (link)- ASI – official page of the IRIDE program with launch dates, a description of the goals and areas of application such as coastal surveillance, resource management and emergency situations (link)- OHB Italia – official description of the Eaglet II constellation and the technical characteristics of the satellites, including optical payload, AIS, mass and expected service life (link)- Next Spaceflight – data on the SpaceX Transporter-16 mission, including the date, time and location of the Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Base on March 30, 2026 (link)
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