The THEOS contract with the Thai Ministry of Science and Technology's Space Agency (GISTDA) includes the production and launch of one optical observation satellite, as well as the development of the ground segment necessary to operate and control the satellite directly from Thailand. This is accompanied by state-of-the-art facilities for image archiving and processing. The THEOS satellite is based on Astrium's new generation of high-performance AstroSat optical Earth observation satellites and benefits from the company's extensive experience in this field which started with the SPOT and MetOp satellites.
As part of the THEOS contract, Thai engineers joined the Astrium development team and attended intensive space programme training. The company firmly believes that this cooperation contract paves the way for further development of GISTDA and space activities in Thailand.
The THEOS payload features both high resolution in panchromatic mode (2m) and wide field of view in multi-spectral mode and has been tailored to Thailand's specific needs with a worldwide imaging capability. THEOS was launched in 2008 on a sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of around 820 km.
THEOS is fully owned and operated by GISTDA and provides Thailand with worldwide geo-referenced image products and image processing capabilities for applications in cartography, land use, agricultural monitoring, forestry management, coastal zone monitoring and flood risk management. THEOS provides access to any part of Thailand in less than two days.
