Ground segment for TRUTHS mission to be delivered by Telespazio UK
NewsJune 24, 2025
HARWELL, United Kingdom. Telespazio UK won a contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to serve as prime contractor for the ground segment of the Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio-Studies (TRUTHS) Earth Watch mission, the company announced in a statement.
The contract covers design, development, delivery, verification, validation, and commissioning of the TRUTHS ground segment through the end of Phase E1, the statement reads. It includes the full ground segment architecture: the Flight Operations Segment (FOS), Payload Data Ground Segment (PDGS), ground station links, and preparation for operations.
The TRUTHS mission is intended to establish a metrology-grade reference for climate monitoring and satellite calibration by measuring direct solar and Earth-reflected radiation with high accuracy, the company says. It is designed to enhance interoperability among Earth observation (EO) satellites and enable cross-calibration of systems that may lack onboard calibration capabilities.
Telespazio UK, a subsidiary of Telespazio (a joint venture between Leonardo and Thales), will collaborate with CGI and the UK’s National Physical Laboratory on the program, the statement adds. The contract builds on development work begun in Phase A in 2020.
