Global monitoring, protecting the Planet starts from Space

Territorial monitoring and control systems are a constant and rich source of information to help decision-makers and everyone involved in ensuring security and providing services for people, critical infrastructure, transport and territory.

Satellite technologies and associated Earth observation services are some of the most significant technologies used. Others include radar and sensor systems, secure communication systems, operational command and control rooms, as well as helicopters, aircraft and remotely piloted drones for reconnaissance, identification and intelligence operations. 

Knowing how to manage such technological solutions enables the acquisition of a complete, precise, up-to-date and easily accessible picture of everything that needs to be observed. This ranges from the environment to protecting cultural heritage, from border control to agriculture, maritime surveillance, and managing emergencies or major events.

In this sense, global monitoring technologies contribute to sustainable development, understood in the broadest sense of the term – in other words in all three of its components: economic, social and environmental – with the ultimate goal of meeting current needs without compromising those of future generations. 

Satellite technologies

Leonardo uses its technology to build satellites and sensors, to construct control centres, and to develop services and applications. The Company plays a leading role in major international space missions through its Electronics Division and joint ventures with Thales, Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space, working every day to develop solutions that help improve people’s lives.

In this respect Copernicus is a great help in ensuring long-term sustainable development for EU citizens, especially in terms of prevention. Led by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), the programme is now the world’s most advanced Earth observation system. It consists of three segments: ground, space and services.

Leonardo plays a leading role, being a key partner in systems development and in the programme’s various satellite applications.

The technologies available to us travel into the infinitely vast but also into the infinitely small. The distance from which we observe the Earth, be it 1,000 or 36,000 km, allows us to make highly accurate weather forecasts, to study atmospheric chemistry and air quality, to monitor the hole in the ozone layer, and even to measure the photosynthetic activity of plants, a direct indicator of the health of vegetation. 

At the same time, hyperspectral instruments (PRISMA satellite) enable us to analyse the chemical and physical composition of an area or object. This allow us to detect micro-algae invisible to the human eye, areas subject to fire risk or illegal landfills dangerous to humans and the environment. 

Then there is the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology on board COSMO-SkyMed. This provides global coverage of our planet, operating in all weather and light conditions. Its constellation of satellites generates extremely accurate geo-localised images with fast response times, hitherto unmatched by any other space-based Earth observation system. This means, for example, the ability to record even millimetre-scale deviations of critical infrastructure such as roads, ports, airports, or nuclear power plants. 

Satellites are therefore an asset to be protected, both at the cyber level - to prevent possible cyber-attacks by hacker groups - and at the physical level, operating safely by avoiding in-orbit collisions with other space debris. 

X-2030

The quality and speed with which information becomes available to decision-makers are essential factors. Data management, an indispensable factor for improving process efficiency, is at the heart of Leonardo’s offering and integral to its products. One example is the X-2030 platform, a command, control, communication, cyber and intelligence solution with the ability to correlate vast amounts of data from disparate sources in real-time and to control territory as an actual ‘system of systems’.

X-2030 can provide an integrated view of the operating environment, bringing benefits in terms of:

• Territorial security and urban resilience: integrated management of operations rooms for monitoring environmental and anthropogenic events, prevention of risks such as fires and hydro-geological instability, management of major events and demonstrations.
• City Management: equipping municipal councils with a system that allows them to make informed, coordinated and timely decisions to meet the public’s needs in terms of security and efficiency of services.

The platform harnesses advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud, supercomputing, deep-learning algorithms and video analytics. It integrates existing applications and state-of-the-art sensor technology, analysing and pooling data from satellites, drones, cameras, databases and social media to provide people in the field with the information they need to make the best decision.