focus

Travelling in Space

16 December 2024

In a global geopolitical context characterised by growing competition, Space technologies represent an enabling element for multi-domain operations. The new vision of Leonardo's Space Business Unit, focused on greater autonomy and a more coordinated and integrated strategy, to act as a catalyst and accelerate the development of highly innovative systems linked to disruptive technologies, is aimed in this direction.

In recent years, the Space sector has been characterised by a constant evolution in technology and applications. This acceleration is linked to the reduction in the cost of access to the space environment, the increasing miniaturisation of systems and devices, and the digital transition, which affects products and production processes, and constitutes an exponential growth factor of the Space Economy. The contamination between space and digital technologies represents one of the fundamental elements in Leonardo's technological and positioning strategy.

Behind the new vision of the Space business area, there is the ability to take full advantage of the most innovative technologies – such as supercomputing, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and quantum computing – and systemise them with Space technologies, in order to achieve a more effective operation of all the platforms and solutions developed. As Massimo Claudio Comparini, Managing Director of Leonardo’s Space Business Unit and Chairman of Thales Alenia Space Supervisory Board, explains, the aim is “to create a team of ‘architects’, i.e. people capable of composing a picture made up of different pieces that, with the Group's new industrial plan, we wanted to bring back to unity. A path based on sharing industrial assets, technological capabilities and the digital dimension, to create a system solution capable of offering solutions based on the provision of information according to a multi-domain logic.”

The idea of collecting large amounts of data from space and generating information requires a large processing capacity, such as that provided by Leonardo's High Performance Computer (HPC) davinci-1. It is also necessary to ensure the possibility of transmitting this information in a cyber-secure manner on distributed cloud platforms and, subsequently, to enable a systemic view. Only in this way is it possible to enable the convergence of effects according to the modern logic of multi-domain operations.
 

 

The relevance of space activities from a geopolitical and strategic perspective underlines the increasing contamination between the Defence and Security and civil and commercial domains. Space is a crucial factor in ensuring global security and supporting multi-domain operations. Not only by ensuring information superiority, necessary for rapid decision-making and knowledge of the exact position of men and vehicles (Position, Navigation and Timing - PNT), but also with global observational capabilities (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance - ISR).

Through the Space business unit, Leonardo aims to federate space assets (satellites, constellations, infrastructures) and satellite services, by leveraging the strong impetus it is giving to digitalisation processes. Space systems and infrastructures will increasingly be a fundamental component in the offer of end-to-end and multi-domain services. Among the segments that will see strong development are Earth observation, satellite communications and the in-orbit servicing market. Pointing the way is Massimo Claudio Comparini, who emphasises that the Group's technological capabilities are broad and diversified. “Leonardo's experience in this field is the result of what it has developed in over 60 years of activity, both within the company perimeter, with the Space business line, and with the role of the Space Alliance, without forgetting its participation in launcher business through Avio.”

 

Technological Know-how

In its Campi Bisenzio (Florence), Nerviano (Milan) and Pomezia (Rome) sites, Leonardo produces optical instruments, robotic arms and drills, space clocks and solar panels. These are all high-tech instruments that can be used for space exploration, Earth observation and positioning, or for supporting the human presence in Space.  In Campi Bisenzio, the company is building five new-generation hyperspectral telescopes for the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for the IRIDE constellation.

IRIDE

Currently under development, IRIDE is a satellite constellation for Earth observation, built in Italy upon the initiative of the Government, under the management of the European Space Agency (ESA) and with the support of the ASI, whose design will be completed by 2026. It involves the development, launch and provision of related services of satellites equipped with different sensing technologies, such as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), high- and medium-resolution optical sensors or in different frequency ranges, from panchromatic to multispectral, hyperspectral and infrared bands. In addition to providing services to the Italian public administration, it will support the Civil Protection and other administrations to combat hydrogeological instability and fires, protect coastlines, monitor critical infrastructures, air quality and weather conditions. It will also provide analytical data for the development of commercial applications by start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises and industries.

Telespazio is leading the cluster of Italian companies that will develop the Flight Operations Segment (FOS) for satellites based on Thales Alenia Space (TAS)'s PLATINO and NIMBUS platforms, equipped with SAR and optical sensors. It is also part of the industrial team that will be in charge of developing and delivering the first batch of 12 satellites and the related FOS of the High-Resolution Multispectral mission, whose first launch is scheduled for 2025.

On the other hand, e-GEOS will build IRIDE's digital marketplace - the infrastructure for accessing data and services - which will provide a single, reliable and cyber-protected access point for institutional bodies and commercial customers, with the aim of fostering the integration of geoinformation services into everyday life. It will then support the project with its services in the field of processing, management and analysis of satellite big data, as well as participate in projects for modelling services based on the concept of the digital twin of the Earth. It will also contribute to the “Matera Space Centre Lab”, which envisages the creation at the ASI Centre in Matera of a laboratory aimed at developing innovative skills in the field of satellite image analysis.

On the cybersecurity front, Leonardo's Global Security Operation Centre (SOC) will support the FOS with real-time security monitoring to quickly identify potentially damaging assets or events, anticipating potential cyber attempts or attacks.

Leonardo also supports e-GEOS in defining the cyber security strategy for the IRIDE marketplace. Security activities also include system monitoring activities for the early detection of technical failures or security incidents that may cause temporary system unavailability. Leonardo manages this monitoring activity from its Global SOC in Chieti.

 

Among the activities carried out in Nerviano, Leonardo is one of the world leaders in the field of atomic clocks, such as the Passive Hydrogen Maser (PHM), considered the most stable and accurate atomic clock ever made for space applications.

 

 

The PHM has an instability of 1 billionth of a second per day, which is equivalent to an error of just one second every three million years.  The company began designing the first Passive Hydrogen Maser in 1999, when it was selected to produce atomic clocks for the European Galileo satellite navigation programme.

GALILEO

European satellite navigation and tracking system. Its data can be used by individual users and for services related to air, sea and rail transport, banking, energy, insurance, telecommunications, tourism and agriculture.

For all the satellites in the programme, Leonardo made the attitude sensors used to control the position of the satellites, and the PHM hydrogen atomic clocks. Telespazio built one of the two mission control centres at the Fucino centre, responsible for the security operations of the entire Galileo system.

TAS will supply ESA with 6 of the 12 second-generation Galileo satellites, with the two inaugural launches expected in 2026, featuring digitally controlled antennas, maximum reconfigurability, a more sophisticated on-board signal generator and a newly developed atomic clock.
 

 

Designed to work in Space for over 12 years, the hydrogen atomic clocks are the real lynchpin of the Galileo constellation and ensure the proper functioning of the entire system. To date, 30 satellites have been launched, each equipped with two PHMs. Leonardo's atomic clock exploits the ‘MASER’ (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emitted Radiation) effect whereby a sample of atomic hydrogen atoms is suitably prepared and introduced into a microwave cavity. Once charged, the cavity acts as an extremely frequency-selective amplifier. That is, it only amplifies a precise frequency, that of the atomic hydrogen transition near 1.4GHz. Thanks to this selective mechanism, it is possible to link the oscillation frequency of a quartz oscillator (the one that produces the “tick-tock” of the watch) to that of the atomic transition, reproducing its excellent properties of precision and stability.

  • The clocks of the future

    In the near future, there will be a need for increasingly compact and high-performance clocks, not only for terrestrial navigation, but also for other applications such as autonomous navigation in deep space, space exploration and scientific experiments.
    As part of an ESA project to design, develop and qualify a new technology for atomic clocks, Leonardo, in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Ricerca in Metrologia (INRIM) in Turin, is developing the “Rubidium POP” atomic clock.
    Entirely produced by the Group and completely made in Italy, this is an innovative technology for space, with performance similar to that of the PHM, which exploits the POP (Pulsed Optically Pumped) technique of pulsed laser interrogation of the atomic transition.
     

In the field of solar panels, Leonardo is developing increasingly lightweight, efficient and modular solutions, adaptable in shape and size to the specific requirements of the various international missions for which they are used, such as Rosetta, ExoMars, Artemis and Juice, the latter equipped with the largest solar panels ever made for a space application.

  • Rosetta

    ESA mission dedicated to the exploration of the minor bodies of the solar system, the first to reach the surface of a comet (67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko).

  • ExoMars

    ESA mission, supported by ASI, whose main objectives are to search for traces of past and present life on Mars, the geochemical characterisation of the planet, knowledge of the environment and its geophysical aspects, and the identification of possible risks for future human missions.

  • Artemis I

    ESA mission, supported by ASI, whose main objectives are to search for traces of past and present life on Mars, the geochemical characterisation of the planet, knowledge of the environment and its geophysical aspects, and the identification of possible risks for future human missions.

  • JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (Juice)

    ESA mission to discover Jupiter and its lunar system. One of the objectives is to conduct research into planet-forming conditions and life-forming processes.

In robotics, Leonardo is building the Sample Transfer Arm, a 2.5-metre-long robotic arm that will be designed, manufactured, integrated and tested by the Group for the Mars Sample Return programme, led by NASA in collaboration with ESA. Based on robotics and mechatronics algorithms, it will allow to retrieve the test tubes containing the Martian soil collected by the Mars 2020 rover Perseverance mission, already operational on the Planet, and deposit them in the container that will then be returned to Earth. Upon return to Earth, it will then be possible to analyse the samples in the most sophisticated laboratories and conduct unprecedented studies on Mars.

 

Within the Space Alliance, Leonardo is active in satellite production (with Thales Alenia Space) and satellite services (with Telespazio).

Space Alliance

Strategic partnership between Leonardo and Thales, with the aim of offering a complete range of solutions to create a better life on Earth and facilitate our ability to reach Space. The Space Alliance operates in the main international markets, with over ten thousand employees in 12 countries worldwide.

Among the most innovative projects, Leonardo, through Thales Alenia Space, the leader of a temporary grouping of companies, is overseeing the development and construction - with PNRR funds and under a mandate from ASI - of an In-Orbit Servicing and Active Debris Removal aircraft, dedicated to the refuelling and maintenance of space infrastructures and satellites, and to the removal of space mission debris (old disused satellites, fragments of various sizes, and launcher stages). The aircraft features, as Massimo Comparini explains, “a propulsion module made by Avio, a service module by Thales Alenia Space, and a new-generation ‘7° of freedom’ robotic arm under development by Leonardo. The aircraft can remain in orbit for months and guarantee all the space logistics functions that are increasingly important today.” This initiative aims to develop the key technologies for future-generation in-orbit services, while strengthening excellence and the entire national supply chain.

Technological evolution is fuelled by tools such as artificial intelligence and big data analysis, thanks to which radar and optical Earth observation systems provide vital information for environmental monitoring. The Space Alliance has developed some of the most important Earth observation programmes, such as COSMO-SkyMed of the Italian Space Agency and Ministry of Defence, for which Leonardo, through Thales Alenia Space, builds satellites and, through Telespazio, analyses data and provides services. Mission data processing is provided by e-GEOS (a joint venture between Telespazio and ASI), which offers near-real-time monitoring and mapping services for large areas. This confirms the strategic nature of the sector for Italy and its geopolitical positioning, as demonstrated by the increase in resources that the Italian government allocates to Space.

COSMO-SkyMed

One of the most innovative programmes on Earth observation, it is based on a configuration of several satellites equipped with SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) sensors, capable of observing the planet both during the day and at night, in all weather conditions.

Italian industry plays a leading role in COSMO-SkyMed, with Leonardo and its joint ventures Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio, together with a significant number of small and medium-sized companies.

Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the entire COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation programme, including the design and development of the satellites and the design, integration and commissioning of the end-to-end system.

Telespazio is responsible for the design and development of the CSG ground segment and the provision of integrated logistics and operations services (ILS and OPS).

Telespazio's Fucino Space Centre is responsible for managing the satellite's Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP), from where the first telemetry data sent from the satellite is acquired. Leonardo also contributes to the programme by supplying the stellar attitude sensors for the satellite's orientation, the photovoltaic panels and the electronic units for power management.

COSMO-SkyMed data are distributed worldwide by e-GEOS, a joint venture between Telespazio (80%) and ASI (20%), which develops applications and provides operational services based on the same data.
 

The growing centrality of the space sector is also evident at a European level, where within the Copernicus Earth observation programme, TAS is prime contractor - on behalf of ESA - for the development and production of the SENTINEL-1 and -3 satellite families and some of the future sentinels.

Copernicus

European Earth observation programme, aimed at monitoring the environment and mitigating the effects of climate change, contributing to the management of humanitarian emergencies, natural disasters and population safety.

Leonardo is one of the main industrial partners in the European earth observation programme Copernicus, both in the construction of the satellites, with Thales Alenia Space, prime contractor for the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-3 constellations and for the new CHIME, CIMR and ROSE-L missions, and in the acquisition of data, services and applications made possible by these, with Telespazio and e-GEOS, and in the development of the sensors, the “eyes” of the satellites, many of which are created in Leonardo laboratories.

But Europe is also moving in the field of connectivity. The conflict in Ukraine has proven the strategic importance of commercial low-orbit satellites. Hence the launch of IRIS2, which follows Copernicus and Galileo as the third European “flagship” project. The aim is to set up a major public-private initiative, to build and put into orbit new satellites to create a communications network able to provide low-latency connectivity services to EU member states for governmental and non-governmental applications in order to strengthen European sovereignty and independence.