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About Posidònia
Posidònia is the first satellite driven by the Balearic Islands, co-financed and operated by Open Cosmos, with funding from the European Union through the Recovery and Resilience Funds – Next Generation EU. Named after the seagrass species emblematic of the Balearic coastline, it forms part of the initial deployment of OpenConstellation 1.0, a next-generation, 15-satellite Earth observation network delivering actionable intelligence in as little as 30 minutes in emergencies.
Posidònia will support environmental, territorial and socio-economic management across the archipelago, strengthening the region's response to natural disasters and crises like wildfires, storms and floods, which are becoming increasingly frequent across the Mediterranean.
The mission brings innovation by putting together cutting-edge technologies, highly skilled professionals and the experts on the field from our local partners including Wireless DNA, the Universitat de les Illes Balears and Garden Hotels. The project has been a success thanks to the support from many regional business organisations, public and private institutions on disseminating the results of the work done with special gratitude to the Federación Empresarial Hotelera de Mallorca (FEHM) that believed on this project since the early concept and helped us improving satellite-based services for the visitor economy.
The launch of Posidònia marks a key milestone: not only does it put the first Balearic Islands satellite into orbit — something that, as a Mallorcan, fills me with particular pride — it is also one of the first steps in the deployment of OpenConstellation 1.0. Thanks to Posidònia, the Balearic Islands will be better placed to manage their territory and the impact of tourism, and to respond more rapidly to risks such as fires and floods.
— Rafel Jordà Siquier, Founder and CEO of Open Cosmos
The President of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Marga Prohens, has highlighted that the launch of Posidonia represents "a historic milestone that demonstrates this Government's firm commitment to innovation, sustainability, and public-private collaboration." In this regard, she stressed that this project "places the Balearic Islands on the map of research, technological development, and the international space sector," and defended the importance of initiatives of this caliber being driven from the islands to turn them into a benchmark in R&D both in Spain and in Europe.
Furthermore, she pointed out that "achieving a more sustainable economic model is a priority for this Government, and the Social and Political Pact for Sustainability pursues precisely that goal." In this context, she added that the information obtained through the satellite will be "a key tool for anticipating certain phenomena, improving land management, and continuing to move forward in a development model based on knowledge, innovation, and sustainability."
Key Features
- Constellation: First deployment satellite of OpenConstellation 1.0, a satellite network
- Data delivery: Under 4 hours for standard tasking; as little as 30 minutes in emergencies
- Imaging: High-resolution multispectral and hyperspectral Earth observation
- Onboard capabilities: AI-based data processing and inter-satellite links
- Applications: Environmental and territorial management, tourism-pressure monitoring, disaster response, critical infrastructure monitoring
- Launch: July 2026
Partners
Posidònia was co-financed by a coalition of Balearic institutions and businesses, funded by the European Union through the Recovery and Resilience Facility – Next Generation EU, and developed and operated by Open Cosmos:
- Wireless DNA — local ecosystem partner
- Universitat de les Illes Balears — academic partner
- Garden Hotels — industry partner, tourism-management use cases
- Federación Empresarial Hotelera de Mallorca (FEHM) — tourism-sector support
- European Union — funded through the Recovery and Resilience Facility – Next Generation EU
