What Officina Stellare will do for Leonardo
The Vicenza-based company active in the space economy has signed a new contract with Leonardo for the supply of four telescopes which will be installed on the Platino4 platform, to complete the Italian Iride satellite constellation.
Leonardo chooses Officina Stellare again.
The Vicenza-based company, specialized in the design and production of telescopes and optical instrumentation, has been awarded a new contract by Leonardo for the supply of four additional optical systems for medium resolution hyperspectral instruments which will be installed on the PLATiNO4 platform, to complete the satellite constellation Italian Iris. That is, one of the most important European Earth Observation (EO) satellite space programs.
It is not the first time that the Italian defense and aerospace giant has turned to Officina Stellare. In fact, in 2023 Leonardo has already commissioned Officina Stellare two contracts for the supply of telescopes for two compact multispectral and hyperspectral optical instruments at very high and medium resolution for Earth observation, which will be installed on the high-tech PLATiNO space platform of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) .
Furthermore, last summer Officina stellare signed a technological development and industrial cooperation agreement with Leonardo and Thales Alenia Space (joint venture 67% Thales and 33% Leonardo).
All the details.
WHAT DOES LEONARDO'S CONTRACT FOR OFFICINA STELLARE PROVIDE
Specifically, the new order involves the supply of four telescopes for the medium resolution hyperspectral optical systems developed by Leonardo, which will be installed on the PLATiNO4 platform and intended for the completion of the Iris constellation.
The contract, lasting 12 months and with a total value of approximately 1.6 million euros, includes, in addition to the creation of the optical payloads – already being supplied for ASI's PLATiNO4 mission – also the engineering activity for the qualification of some critical integration processes.
THE IRIDE PROJECT
As the company note recalls, the Iris "constellation of constellations", created on the initiative of the Italian Government thanks to the resources of the Pnrr, will be completed by 2026, under the management of the European Space Agency (ESA) and with the support of 'Asi. The project represents a one-of-a-kind end-to-end system, based on a number of different detection tools and technologies. In particular, the IRIDE sub-constellations provide operational payloads with various spatial resolutions sensitive to different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from microwave radar imaging to optical imaging, both in multispectral and hyperspectral modes, and covering a spectrum of wave that extends from the visual to the thermal infrared.
In this context, modern multi-mission satellite platforms, such as PLATiNO, play a particularly important role. One of its characteristics is to embark technologies for their demonstration in orbit by exploiting low-cost launch opportunities, but also to enable new mission concepts, to integrate those based on larger 'traditional' satellites.
WHAT THE VICENTINA COMPANY DOES
Officina Stellare has its registered office in Sarcedo (Vicenza). The company has been listed on the Aim Italia market of the Italian Stock Exchange since 26 June 2019.
Founded in 2009 by Riccardo Gianni (president), Giovanni Dal Lago and Gino Bucciol (chief business development officer), who were joined in 2012 by partner and advisor Fabio Rubeo, it stands out in the sector as one of the few companies in the world with availability entirely in-house with all the knowledge and skills necessary for the development, creation and commissioning of its products.
THE PARTNERS
With a share capital of 604,575 euros, the company is 37.55% controlled by Virgilio Holding; 15.19% by Mirak Enterprise, 15.19% by Astro Alliance, 4.69% belongs to Satellogic Solutions, 2.46% is in the hands of co-founder Gino Bucciol and 2.35% by Stone Srl and the remaining 22.57% is the floating capital.
In addition to the president Riccardo Gianni, the board of directors includes: Giovanni Del lago; Fabio Rubeo; Elias Solinas; Gino Bucciol; Carlo Spezzapria (CEO); Corinna katrin Nedden Zur, Emiliano Kargieman and Alessio Grasso.
THE NUMBERS
Officina Stellare has 50 employees. The value of production at 31 December 2021 was 9.5 million euros, with an increase of 2.2 million euros compared to the 2020 financial year (+28.6%), divided into the following main market sectors: Research 53 %, Aerospace 36% and Defense 11%. The net result is equal to 1.34 million euros, an increase of 1.03 million corresponding to 333.23% compared to the previous financial year (300 thousand euros in the 2020 financial year). During 2021, the company made investments in intangible and tangible assets for a total amount of euro 3.2 million (compared to euro 3.4 million in 2020).
Compared to the previous year, 2022 closes with an increase in the value of production of 13.04 million euros, up 37.1% compared to the 9.51 million obtained the previous year. Ebitda drops, down by 8.28%, to 3.17 million. Net profit also decreased (excluding the share of third parties) from 1.3 million to 486 thousand euros, following the increase in operating costs. At the end of 2022, net financial debt amounted to 6.44 million euros, an improvement compared to the 7.51 million euros at 31 December 2021, following the cash flows generated in the year.
NASA, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, ITALIAN AIR FORCE AND ASI AMONG THE CUSTOMERS
The company's customers include: Asi , NASA; MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology; USNO – United States Naval Observatory; DLR – German Aerospace Center; Airbus – Space and Defense; Thales Alenia Space; KASI Korean Astronomy and Space Science Institute; Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Bern University – Geneve University (Switzerland); Georgiatech – Georgia Institute of Technology; Pontificia Universidad de Chile; Italian Air Force; US Air Force; Royal Thai Air Force; The Aerospace Corporation; Qatar Foundation and EOS Space.
THE COMPANY'S POSITION
“We are enthusiastic about this order which sees us once again alongside a global excellence such as Leonardo, and an active part in the realization of one of the most innovative projects in the space sector, with a key role in the supply of high performance systems intended for a unique constellation in the its kind such as Iride” commented Carlo Spezzapria, CEO of Officina Stellare. “This is a project that sees Leonardo's hyperspectral payloads as core responsibilities, based on enabling and state-of-the-art technologies, and capable of meeting and fully satisfying the challenge that the 'constellation of constellations' represents for the system today space of the country. A result that gives us particular pleasure, confirming us as a partner of absolute importance alongside the primary players in the supply chain".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cosa-fara-officina-stellare-per-leonardo-per-la-costellazione-iride/ on Mon, 22 Apr 2024 14:54:17 +0000.