For Italy—and for Europe—this marks an unprecedented achievement: the simultaneous launch of seven satellites belonging to the same constellation, IRIDE, by Argotec, a Turin-based company that is an industrial partner of the program supported by the Italian Government and coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA), with the support of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). After two postponements due to weather conditions, the HEO satellites were launched at 11:25 p.m. on Monday, June 23, atop a Falcon 9 rocket. More than one billion euros have been invested in the IRIDE satellite network. It is made up of satellites with varying technologies and capabilities, designed to monitor natural phenomena, observe climate change, and map important security infrastructures. The goal is to build the most significant Italian constellation for Earth observation, as well as one of the largest in Europe. Italy continues to affirm its excellence in the space sector, equipping itself with a strategic, autonomous, and high-resolution tool.
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