ESA GMES Program takes another step forward

[BGonaSTICK]

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Member States participating in the GMES Program approved the transition to Phase-2 of Segment 1 of the GMES Space Component Program. GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) is an EU-led initiative aimed at implementing information services dealing with environment and security. Oversubscription of the program by the ESA Council at ministerial level in 2005 was confirmed, with oversubscription to phase 2 of 116 percent, presenting a total amount of €500 million. This additional contribution to the program will allow ESA to confirm the development of the first three Sentinel satellites.

ESA is responsible for the management and coordination of the overall GMES Space Component in Europe. With this transition to Phase-2, the ESA will be able to make progress on development of the Sentinel satellite series and, in particular, build Sentinel-1, -2 and -3, together with the necessary ground segment. Prior to 2001 to 2012 launch of the ESA-built Sentinels, the ESA will coordinate the provision of EO data required by the GMES services currently implemented by the EC. This will help to gradually take GMES from the pre-operational phase to the fully operational stage once the Sentinel satellites are in place. Some countries, which were unable to confirm their contributions in time, are expected to subscribe later. The GMES Space Component Programme is co-funded by the European Commission - Paris, France

Source: SatNews