SSC Space has agreed a contract with Airbus Defence and Space to deliver extended ground station support for the Pléiades Neo and upcoming Pléiades Neo Next Earth observation missions.
Under the agreement, SSC Space is designated as the prime ground segment provider for both satellite programmes. The company will use its facilities at Esrange Space Center in Sweden, Punta Arenas Station in Chile, and Inuvik Satellite Station Facility in Canada.
The contract includes the provision of routine telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) as well as data reception services throughout the satellites’ time in orbit. In addition, SSC Space will support launch and early orbit operations (LEOP) for the Pléiades Neo Next mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2028.
Airbus and SSC Space established their ground segment partnership for the Pléiades Neo satellite fleet in 2019. At that time, SSC was contracted to deliver LEOP support, as well as TT&C and data reception services for the initial constellation.
Airbus Defence and Space space digital head Eric Even said: “This collaboration highlights Airbus’ ability to work with solid European partners to continuously enhance its services, remain at the forefront of Earth observation capabilities and serve its customers at best.
“Our continued work with SSC Space demonstrates our excellent collaboration and the performance of our joint activities.”
As part of the cooperation, SSC Space will also optimise its ground segment architecture to enable reduced data latency, aiming to accelerate data delivery to Airbus customers across defence and commercial markets.
Unveiled in 2024, the Pléiades Neo Next programme will expand Airbus’ very-high-resolution Earth observation constellation by adding satellites designed for native resolution at the 20cm class and offering higher revisit rates.
The existing Pléiades Neo constellation, operational since 2021, delivers native 30cm optical resolution from two identical satellites phased 180 degrees apart.
The advanced capabilities of the new fleet mean that, working together, the Pléiades Neo and Pléiades Neo Next satellites will allow for significantly higher revisit frequency anywhere on Earth, several times per day. They are also expected to provide high spatial resolution and geolocation accuracy.
Both missions will support a range of sectors including defence, intelligence, agriculture, environment, maritime, disaster response, mapping, location-based services, civil engineering, urban planning and utilities. The satellites are manufactured, owned and operated by Airbus Defence and Space.
SSC Space business development director Stefan Pessirilo said: “We are excited to expand our collaboration with Airbus on the next generation of its geospatial capabilities, including Pléiades Neo and Pléiades Neo Next.
“We will support advanced operations and enable low-latency data delivery – meeting the growing demand for faster access to Earth observation data across both defence and commercial markets.”
