Open Cosmos awarded €60m for Earth Observation Constellation

The project forms part of the Hellenic Government's procurement of an advanced satellite constellation. The data collected from this constellation is expected to improve public services such as the land registry, combat sea pollution, and increase agricultural efficiency.

Open Cosmos was founded in 2015 with a mission to address global sustainability challenges by making actionable information from space available to everyone.

Part of this vision is the OpenConstellation, a mutualised constellation that is set to become the largest shared infrastructure in space. Greece will join in this global partnership of nations and companies in the private sector, exchanging data in respect of disaster responses and environmental monitoring.

In a statement, Rafel Jorda Siquier, founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, said: "We faced competition from some of the world's leading players in the industry, and to win is a true testament to the hard work of everyone at Open Cosmos and the strength of our advanced satellite technology. Delivering this contract will position us at the forefront of satellite data providers, opening up further collaborations and growing the OpenConstellation."

The seven satellites in the Greek constellation will gather data from a multisensor instrument suite in low earth orbit, including very-high resolution optical multispectral and  hyperspectral cameras, Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers, complemented by on-board Artificial Intelligence, to maximise efficiency.

The programme will be delivered in partnership with the European Space Agency and complement existing systems such as EU Copernicus, while being fully compatible with the Atlantic constellation, a global project developing a constellation of small satellites for ocean, Earth and climate monitoring.

The satellites will be built and operated by Open Cosmos Aegean, a new manufacturing centre which will enhance sovereign capabilities in satellite technologies and attract further investment to the country.

Dr Maria Kalama, director of Open Cosmos Aegean, said: "We have created a vibrant ecosystem of suppliers and service providers around us, in every country we are present, and Greece will be no exception."