The Republic of Kazakhstan has chosen Astrium as its strategic partner to develop a national space programme. The partnership agreement includes the supply of the two Earth observation satellites, together with the establishment of the integration centre and the large training facility for Kazakhstan engineers. It also entails the setting up by Astrium and its partner JSC National Company Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary of a joint venture to manage the integration centre operations.

The ERSSS system (Earth Remote Sensing Satellite System) for Kazakhstan consists of two Earth observation satellites – one high resolution with a ground resolution of 1m, the other medium resolution with a ground resolution of 7m and a wide coverage swath. The ERSSS programme also includes the ground segment, both for the control and for the image data reception, implemented in the Kazakh capital Astana and a commitment to train Kazakh engineers in satellite technology. The satellite system will give Kazakhstan civil applications including monitoring natural resources and agriculture as well as providing mapping data and rescue operation support in the event of a disaster.

Under a second contract, Astrium is providing a Satellite Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) Centre in Astana.