Catalunya will put its second nanosatellite, named Menut, into orbit on Tuesday, December 6. The launch will take place from Florida, in the United States, aboard a SpaceX company rocket. The previous device was put into orbit from Kazakhstan by a Russian company, but the war in Ukraine has forced the Govern to change its initial plans.
The new nanosatellite will allow to collect data on the impact of climate change in Catalunya and has been designed and manufactured by the company Open Cosmos, which has just opened new facilities in Barcelona where it plans to invest 10 million euros in the coming years for the production of this type of devices. Now, in this new Barcelona base, about fifteen people are already working, but the goal is for the team to grow to about fifty employees with a technological and engineering profile, says the founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, Rafael Jordà.
According to David Ferrer, Secretary of Digital Policies of the Generalitat, told ACN, a third satellite will be tendered next week designed to compensate for gaps in mobile phone coverage and boost the Internet of Things (IoT) thanks to 5G technology. This launch program is part of the New Space strategy promoted by the Govern, which wants to take advantage of and enhance the strength of the space sector in Catalunya, an activity that encompasses about one hundred companies and employs about 7,500 highly qualified people who until now lacked projects in the country.
After successfully passing the final functional and optical tests with technicians from the Institute of Space Studies of Catalunya and the Cartographic and Geological Institute, this week the Menut will depart for the United States to then join the so-called Open Constellation, a project that seeks to form a group of Earth observation satellites with devices contributed by space agencies, countries, institutions and companies.
The satellite will be capable of taking images with 5 meters of resolution from anywhere in the world, although it will prioritize taking images of Catalunya which, after being analyzed with the latest artificial intelligence technologies, will allow monitoring the impact of climate change.
"Only what is measured can be improved, and satellites like Menut are essential to measure the climate emergency and have information to respond effectively to increasingly frequent natural disasters such as fires or floods. We are committed to this cause and prepared to make the necessary investments in the new spaces we are inaugurating in Barcelona to be able to manufacture as many satellites as are required by both administrations and private companies," comments Rafel Jordà.
Open Cosmos will launch this state-of-the-art laboratory for satellite manufacturing in Barcelona in collaboration with the GPAInnova group. The project contemplates an investment of 10 million euros and the creation of 50 direct highly qualified jobs, which will attract and repatriate talent that is now dispersed around the world in organizations as emblematic as NASA. "The space industry is in full revolution, and we hope that the investments Open Cosmos is making in Barcelona will catalyze the growth of the entire ecosystem with ambitious driving projects that boost the entire existing industrial and technological fabric," says Jordà, who, until now, had developed his company from the United Kingdom.
Add The New Barcelona Post as your preferred Google source for free
Stay informed with the latest news.
