Fareham company IGG Component Technology is celebrating the successful launch of the European Space Agency's latest satellite.

IGG was closely involved in the Integral project, working with the space agency and prime contractor Alenia Spazio of Turin.

The Fareham company's role was to ensure the reliability of the electronics, by testing and delivering a wide range of components to the various companies that built the complex instruments and the systems that control the satellite.

Graham Peters, sales and marketing director, said: "We are delighted that the satellite has been successfully launched and deployed in orbit.

"These missions require a considerable amount of effort over many years. We are extremely proud to have played a part and look forward to seeing the images produced by the satellite's instruments."

Earlier this year IGG was selected by the European Space Agency to make preparations for the electronic component procurement for the Galileo satellite, Europe's satellite Global Positioning System and most ambitious project to date.

The Integral satellite is a scientific mission that will provide astr-onomers with an opportunity for the first time to make simultaneous observations of gamma rays, X-rays and visible light from some of the densest objects in the sky such as black holes and neutron stars.

The mission is expected to confirm the presence of a black hole at the centre of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

During the Integral project the company provided more than 3,000 different types of electronic components from 52 different suppliers to 30 different equipment manufacturers around Europe.