Canada-based UrtheCast has been awarded a $78m contract to develop a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft.

The deal also covers mission control and planning system for the satellite ground control station, SAR processor, and in-orbit operations support.

"The spacecraft is developed jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI)."

The contractual work is scheduled to begin next year.

Virgin Orbit has secured a contract to launch Italian firm SITAEL’s small μHETsat satellite aboard its LauncherOne rocket into the low-Earth orbit.

The spacecraft is developed jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).