Selex Galileo, a Finmeccanica Company, has been awarded a contract to provide approximately 250 star tracker attitude sensors for the Iridium Next programme, Iridium’s next-generation satellite constellation estimated to launch in 2015.

Fabrizio Giulianini, Selex Galileo CEO, said “This contract represents a major success for Selex Galileo. It recognises the company’s leadership in advanced space technology, and will strengthen our relationship with prime contractors in the space sector. The award for Iridium Next will allow us to develop a new type of star tracker that delivers high performance at an even more competitive cost.”

The Iridium Next constellation will include 81 satellites (66 operational low-Earth orbiting satellites to replace the current constellation; six in-orbit spare satellites and nine ground spares) that will gradually replace the existing Iridium constellation, providing continuous network coverage over the earth’s surface. Thales Alenia Space is the prime contractor for the programme, responsible for the engineering, system integration and supply of the satellites.

Selex Galileo will develop three star trackers for each satellite for a total of 250. The star trackers will mount to the body of the satellites to determine the orientation of the satellite.