SENER was assigned responsibility for the optical instrument of the SEOSAT/INGENIO satellite, the future Spanish Earth Observation Satellite, in the context of the National Earth Observation Programme. It is the main instrument in the satellite, with a system that will provide high-resolution images of any part of the planet in two different spectral channels: one panchromatic (black and white) with a resolution of 2.5 metres and one multi-spectral with four bands (blue, green, red, and near infra-red) and a resolution of 10 metres.

This contact has meant a major workload for SENER, and it consolidates the new area of Optical Systems Integration of the company’s Space Department. SENER will have ultimate responsibility for the instrument, directing its systems engineering work as well as its optical and thermo-structural design.

Until now, SENER has been part of the group of companies working to define INGENIO, and has taken part in the Consolidation Study to define the final configuration of the satellite, as it is responsible for the optical instrument.

This consortium analysed in detail which necessities the instrument had to cover so as to choose the most suitable configuration, thinking of maximum coverage for Spanish territory with a minimum review time. The configuration finally chosen has been designed to achieve the required technical performance, bearing in mind the control of development risk, meeting the delivery deadline and keeping the overall cost within the defined budget. It basically consists of a system of two identical cameras which is capable of taking images of the Earth from a height of 60 km.

The system on which the instrument is mounted will orbit nearly 15 times a day. In each orbit, the instrument will be able to record images continuously for more than 15 minutes, which corresponds to an image trace of over 6,000 km in length. In this new stage, as the main contractor, SENER is leading the entire development of the optical instrument and is not only responsible for the optical-mechanical and thermal part, but also for the extraction of signals from the instrument sensors, their analogue processing and digitalisation. SENER’s activities cover from preliminary design, analysis (optical, structural, thermal etc.) and detail design to classification tests, validation and final delivery of the flight module, including manufacture, assembly and integration.

The contract delivery period is around 45 months, meaning that the SEOSAT/INGENO optical instrument could be ready by mid 2012. After launch, it will have a useful life expectancy of seven years.