Launch of Italy's first military communications satellite, SICRAL, has been delayed until early February. It had been planned to launch it between July and October this year.
Technical reasons have delayed the launch of the Sitab consortium (Alenia Spazio 70%, Fiat Avio 20% and Telespazio 10%)-built satellite by at least six months. The satellite is to be launched from Kourou, French Guyana, by an Arianespace Ariane 5, and replaces a planned Ariane 4 launch.
The infrastructure is in place to start using the satellite once it has reached its planned geostationary orbit. A tri-service control centre has been completed at the Vigna di Valle airbase and a first batch of SICRAL terminals is installed in air force command, control and communications (C3) centres. The terminals have also been installed on some aircraft - Alenia/Embraer AMXs and Panavia Tornados - with plans to add the capability to Eurofighters, Alenia/Lockheed Martin C-27Js and Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules.
The navy is installing SICRAL at its C3 centres as well as on its principal ships, while the army is introducing the capability to its command, control, communications, computers and intelligence infrastructure and equipping some helicopters and command and control vehicles with mobile terminals.
Meanwhile, Sitab is completing a second satellite bus - without the mission system - either to increase capacity or to provide a spare if the first satellite is lost .
Source: Flight International
