L-band radar observation system for Europe’s ROSE-L. (Photo by Kongsberg)

Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace has been boosted by a new contract win that will see the company deliver technology to the new Radar Observation System for Europe (ROSE) satellite as part of the Copernicus Program – the European Union’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security program.

Thales Alenia Space, prime contractor for the ROSE program, awarded the deal to Kongsberg, which announced the agreement on Thursday.

Under the terms of the contract, Kongsberg will deliver the Antenna Pointing Mechanism (APM) for the ROSE L-band mission to Thales Alenia Space. The APM routes the radio frequency signals between the antenna and the spacecraft, and provides accurate and stable pointing of the reflector and elevation axes to transfer information from the satellite to the ground station antenna on Earth.

The European Commission (EC) leads the program, acting on behalf of the European Union and in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). 

“Signing the Copernicus ROSE-L contract with Thales Alenia Space represents an important milestone to Kongsberg. Copernicus is the world’s most ambitious Earth Observation Program, and the ROSE-L will provide information for monitoring forest, soil moisture, vegetation and land ice, and helping climate change research through mapping and monitoring sea and land ice,” Harald Aarø, Executive Vice President Kongsberg’s Division for Space and Surveillance, said in a statement.