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The Generalitat de Catalunya announced that it will launch its third nanosatellite during the first half of this year.
The purpose of this initiative is to set up a laboratory in space to verify the effectiveness of technologies and services created in the context of the NewSpace Catalonia Strategy.
The other goal is to improve 5G connectivity through the use of the new 5G NB-Iot connectivity protocol.
The presentation of the mission was made by the Secretary of Digital Policies, Gina Tost. He was accompanied by Sergi Figuerola director of technology and innovation of the i2CAT Foundation and Jaume Sanpera CEO and co-founder of Sateliot.
The mission will be carried out together with the i2CAT Foundation, the entity managing the mission and which has tendered the service, and Sateliot, the company that will develop the satellite for a value of 650,000 euros.
Third nanosatellite laboratory of Catalonia
After the successful launch of the second nanosatellite (the “Menut”) last January 3, the goal now is to put into orbit the new laboratory developed and managed by the i2CAT Foundation.
You will work on the validation of cases such as resource management, crop hydromonitoring, transport control, infrastructure management, among others.
According to Figuerola, the mission will enable the foundation “to be in a leading position in the region and the world in terms of technology validation and services oriented on 5G NB-IoT technologies.”
The third nanosatellite “Minairó” will be launched from California (United States) with a rocket of the U.S. company SpaceX.
According to Sanpera, CEO of Sateliot, this satellite will be the first to be launched under the 5G standard.
This will be a “disruptive change” in the world of satellite telecommunications, since until now it was not possible to work with standard devices.
The fourth mission
Gina Tost, Secretary for Digital Policies, announced that there will be a fourth mission to be tendered “throughout 2023”. It will also be used for earth observation.
He also indicated that with respect to the second nanosatellite “Menut” launched by the Generalitat, he stated that they are obtaining results that will indicate the success of the mission.
The initiative of the Generalitat de Catalunya to launch nanosatellites to improve connectivity and validate technologies developed in the region. This is an important step in the field of space technology.
This initiative will allow Catalonia to open up new opportunities in the world of satellite telecommunications.
The Government of Catalonia has already invested 1.7 million euros in the launch of two nanosatellites with the aim of advancing observations of the Earth.
With the launch of this third nanosatellite, Catalonia positions itself as a leading region in the space technology sector. Demonstrates its commitment to innovation and space exploration.
