08. August 2012

MUSIS FA Phase B1 completed

On 8th August 2012 the last invoices concerning the MUSIS Federating Activities Phase B1 were paid to the companies Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium. This event marked the successful completion of the Phase B1 contract.

The MUSIS Federating Activities aim at providing Italy and France with an easy and reliable access to optical and radar images generated by the two complementary space systems CSO and CSG put in place by each of the two Participating States.

View of a CSO satellite.
The French optical space component will succeed Helios II.

View of a CSG satellite. 
The Italian radar space component will succeed Cosmo-SkyMed.

Acting in partnership with Nations and Industry OCCAR-EA is responsible for managing the design of the CIL (Common Interoperability Layer), an advanced bridge which will be placed on the ground between the two space systems. The CIL will enable operators from one nation to order image products from the partner’s system, task the satellites of the other nation, receive the image products and store them in a secure way. The personnel needed to operate this system will be kept at minimum, thereby minimising lifecycle costs.

The MUSIS FA Phase B1 contract had been awarded by OCCAR-EA on 1st July 2011 to the three co-contractors Thales Alenia Space Italia, EADS Astrium France, and Thales Alenia Space France. Final results of the Phase B1 have been achieved at the System Requirements Review held in spring 2012. It confirmed the feasibility of the system and proposed a detailed architecture for this advanced bridge. 

Following the successful completion of Phase B1 the two Participating States decided in June 2012 to launch the MUSIS FA Phase B2. The associated contract is expected to be placed next year with the objective to complete the preliminary definition of the CIL. The development and production phase (C/D) should start afterwards to lead to an entry into service of the CIL in a few years together with the first satellites of the new generation. 

The MUSIS Federating Activities constitute a concrete step of the MUSIS endeavour initiated by six European Nations to ensure the continuation of the cooperation in the field of military Earth Observation.