Open Cosmos announces OpenConstellation

‍aris, 21 September 2022:

• The Open Constellation project is a global, shared satellite infrastructure built and managed by Open Cosmos to enable anyone to access satellite data to address challenges around the climate crisis, energy, natural resources  and more

• Leading space organizations across Europe such as UKSA, Satellite Applications Catapult, IEEC, AGAPA, CEiiA and ESA are supporting the pioneering batch of 6 satellites that will see its first launch in November this year.
• Open Cosmos is democratizing access to this critical data that otherwise would only be available through owned satellites that would be prohibitively expensive to launch and manage for smaller countries and even companies
• Open Cosmos is one of the few companies in the world capable to deliver end-to-end satellite missions for diverse sensors in a fast and affordable way
• Further batches of the constellation are soon to be announced from existing and new OpenConstellation members to soon have a total of 25 satellites with the mix of spatial and spectral resolution the market is asking for.

Launching the world’s biggest mutualised constellation

The OpenConstellation is the next stage in Open Cosmos’s mission to create a world empowered by actionable information from space. Launching a satellite to access vital data has in the past been prohibitively expensive, yet the OpenConstellation project will allow national and regional governments, as well as businesses and organisations with more conservative budgets, to participate and access insightful, actionable data from space for the first time while keeping high levels of governance and security.

The OpenConstellation consists of a shared satellite infrastructure managed by Open Cosmos’ team. It is based on advanced technologies that Open Cosmos has developed in partnership with space agencies and partners, combining some of the most compact earth observation sensors, near-real time capabilities as well as the latest data processing capabilities. Partner members of the OpenConstellation are able to contribute satellites in return for access to high-quality data frequently delivered over their areas of interest.

A mutualised infrastructure provides the right balance between the budget organisations or governments can afford and the associated performance they need. It provides a great advantage to its members by multiplying their ability to cover their areas of interest and to revisit in case of emergency. Other benefits include the ability to respond in near real-time to emergencies and natural hazards and the positive impact on national and regional policies thanks to unparalleled access to frequent and varied data sources and applications.

In addition to manufacturing and managing the launch of the small-satellite platforms, Open Cosmos will be responsible for satellite housekeeping and the downlinking and processing of payload data. This data will then be available for partner agencies to access and analyse through Open Cosmos’ data sharing platform, DataCosmos, which launched earlier this year. The cloud-based platform offers a powerful interface with different types of imagery, data from complementary sources such as vectors, drones and sensors, results from algorithms and a roster of applications that can make satellite imagery useful and valuable.

Use space technology to solve global challenges

Open Cosmos designs, manufactures and operates satellites that provide global, reliable data to solve global challenges. It is one of the few companies in the world capable of delivering end-to-end satellite missions and turn the diverse range of data they gather into actionable insights critical in multiple industries. This is due to its unique combination of compact satellites, proprietary mission operation software and data platform, as well as its mutualised approach for sharing capacity, which will power the OpenConstellation. At the moment, all satellites in the OpenConstellation are built by Open Cosmos and include its multispectral and hyperspectral (RGB, NIR) satellites with resolutions of 2.5m and 13km swath,  and 5 m resolution and 20km swath. Additional satellites with higher spatial and spectral resolution, covering other bands of the spectrum are planned to be added in a second phase.

The first generation of OpenConstellation satellites will start to launch in November later this year and with satellites contributed by leading space organisations in the UK, Spain and Portugal. Future batches of the constellation will be announced, from existing and new members, with the aim to provide a total of 25 satellites with the mix of spatial and spectral resolution the market is requiring.

It is only through the range of satellites being used as part of OpenConstellation, and their respective resolutions and bands, and through the shared nature of the infrastructure that challenges such as monitoring agricultural programmes, detecting environmental threats and identifying illegal mining practices can be accurately and adequately addressed.  The increased coverage and operational support also mean the utilisation of the satellites is much higher than single dedicated constellations or satellites, making each launch exponentially more useful. Combining the latest technologies - on-board AI processing and compressing capabilities, satellite IoT connectivity and laser coms in the future - will put the constellation in a unique position to address near-real-time needs.

Rafel Jorda Siquier, founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, said:

‍“The main challenges the world faces today are global and satellites naturally provide that global perspective we need to make the right decisions. The key objective of OpenConstellation is to make necessary data and information from space more accessible. A mutualised infrastructure will provide the right balance between the budget organisations or government can afford and the associated performance they need.”