EADS Astrium wins 263 mln-euro ESA satellite order

Satellite maker Astrium, a unit of European aerospace firm EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), said on Tuesday it had won a contract worth some 263 million euros ($415 million) to build an earth observation satellite.

The firm signed the contract with the European Space Agency to the develop the EarthCARE satellite at the Berlin air show.
Weighing some 1.7 metric tons, the satellite is due to be launched in 2013. The firm said the satellite should aid understanding of the earth's climate and deliver data for research and meteorological forecasting models.

EarthCARE (Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer) is the sixth Earth Explorer mission to be launched by ESA as part of its "Living Planet" programme, Astrium said. (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Dave Graham)

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