IRIDE: IMAGES FROM THE EAGLET II CONSTELLATION
The national Earth Observation programme reaches a new milestone
Rome, October 8th, 2026 – The Eaglet II constellation of the IRIDE programme is completing its commissioning phase and will soon be operational.
From the earliest stages of the launch, the satellites have been acquiring and transmitting high-resolution images of the Earth.
The attached link presents examples of images acquired in different areas of the world.
This achievement confirms the success of the initial operations in orbit, the effectiveness of the systems developed and the value of the infrastructure for applications such as monitoring ports, airports or maritime traffic.
The images, received by OHB Italia’s Control Centre in Rome, are the result of the satellites’ crucial commissioning phase and demonstrate the capabilities of the platform and the optical instrument.
The IRIDE Eaglet II constellation was recently completed with the launch of the final eight satellites. All have successfully completed the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP), the first major operational milestone following launch: the satellites were correctly placed in orbit and are now ready for performance verification and subsequent entry into service.
The constellation now comprises twenty-four satellites, all designed, developed and integrated at OHB Italia’s facilities in Milan and operated from the company’s Control Centre in Rome.
IRIDE is the national Earth Observation infrastructure, owned by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), established under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), supplemented by the National Complementary Plan (PNC). The programme is being developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with the support of ASI and integrates satellite constellations, ground infrastructure and digital services to transform Earth Observation data into operational geospatial services supporting institutions, public administration, research and the country’s economic development. Upon completion of the development and validation phase, operational responsibility for the system is progressively transferred to ASI, which oversees its operational management and evolution.
The Eaglet II satellites, launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter missions from Vandenberg, California, are designed to provide high-resolution RGB imagery with low latency, contributing to the generation of strategic geospatial data.
Eaglet II is the second Italian optical constellation in orbit and joins the HEO constellation, which is also part of the IRIDE programme.
The objective is to provide advanced services for environmental monitoring, emergency management in support of Civil Protection, the monitoring of critical infrastructure and the territory, and also the development of commercial applications.
With IRIDE, Italy consolidates its leading role in the space sector, equipping itself with an autonomous, high-performance tool for Earth Observation.
The Eaglet II satellites represent a new generation of compact Earth Observation satellites, entirely designed and developed by OHB Italia, with a dedicated Control Centre for conducting satellite operations throughout all phases of the mission.
In addition to acquiring optical images, the satellites incorporate capabilities for collecting and retransmitting AIS signals for vessel tracking, enabling maritime surveillance and security applications.
Roberto Aceti, Managing Director of OHB Italia, stated: “The first image acquired by the Eaglet II satellites represents a very significant moment for our company and for the entire IRIDE programme. Following the design, integration, testing and launch phases, the satellites’ successful operation and production of their first data confirm the technological robustness of the system developed by OHB Italia. This achievement now paves the way for the constellation’s full operational capability and the continuous production of data for the benefit of the entire country.”
