“Canada Days” in Naples: Alenia Aerospazio presents the Canadian Radarsat 2 programme

During the inauguration of the Canadian Consulate in Naples and the presentation of “Canada Days”, Alenia
Aerospazio officially announced that it has received an important (100 billion lire) contract from MacDonald
Dettwiler (MDA) for the construction of the platform for Canada’s remote sensing satellite Radarsat 2.

The Canadian Space Agency awarded MacDonald Dettwiler the contract to build, market and manage the
Radarsat 2 programme.

The contract, awarded to the Italian company after an international competition involving the major space
industries, is the continuation of one of the two feasibility studies assigned by MDA to European businesses
in the second half of 1999.

The Radarsat 2 platform, based on PRIMA, the satellite bus developed by Alenia Aerospazio for the Italian
Space Agency, will be equipped with sophisticated systems for satellite attitude control, high accuracy
autonomous navigation and data handling and transmission. The structure will be made of composite
material.

Radarsat 2 will carry a new-generation C-band remote sensing radar with a ground resolution of 3 metres,
compared with Radarsat 1’s 10 metres.

The Radarsat 2 contract consolidates Alenia Aerospazio’s standing in the field of remote sensing, achieved
by developing synthetic aperture radars and radar altimeters and by acting as prime contractor for the
Cosmo Skymed programme, a constellation of 7 satellites equipped with radar and optical sensors.

In addition, this important contract consolidates the leading position Alenia Aerospazio has acquired in the
design and construction of platforms for satellite and satellite constellations for remote sensing and
telecommunications.

IMAGE CAPTIONS: [http://www.alespazio.it/news/ing/42.htm]

[Image 1]

Image of Gulf of Naples from RadarSat satellite remote sensing data.

[Image 2]

Image of Vancouver from RadarSat satellite remote sensing data.