EOS SAT, the first agri-focused satellite constellation, began its space roll-out this week with EOS SAT-1 successfully placed into a low Earth orbit. Delivered by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, this first imaging satellite will make up one of seven small optical satellites in the total constellation.
Together the group of satellites will assist agribusinesses in monitoring crop growth and detecting heat, cold, water stress, weed spread, pest attacks, and other issues threatening crops.
Users of EOS SAT will be able to:
- Optimise their input use based on productivity and vegetation maps
- Test the effectiveness of new crop protection products or fertilisers
- Avoid unnecessary field inspections and thus reduce fuel use
- Manage irrigation estimate yields, and more
This initial placement of EOS SAT-1 will provide the ability to monitor one million square kilometres of farmland each day using 11 agri-related measurements. EOS SAT-2 and the following satellites are expected to be put into orbit between 2023 and 2024. The full EOS SAT constellation is scheduled to be fully operational by 2025, when it will cover up to 12 million square kilometres daily or 98.5% of farmlands and forests around the world.
With satellites built by Dragonfly Aerospace, EOS SAT has been created by EOS Data Analytics, a global provider of AI-powered satellite imagery analytics. The company was founded by Dr. Max Polyakov, an international space technology and IT entrepreneur and philanthropist, to support the implementation of sustainable agriculture methods and environmental monitoring of forestlands by providing high-quality data for analysis.
“I would like to congratulate the entire team of EOS Data Analytics on the launch of EOS SAT-1. This launch brings new game-changing possibilities of satellite technologies to the agricultural industry. EOSDA will now work with proprietary datasets to provide even deeper and more accurate insights for its customers and partners,” said Artiom Anisimov, CEO of EOS Data Analytics.
“This is a key moment for Dragonfly Aerospace, and we are thrilled to be delivering EOS SAT-1 with a number of firsts – the first imaging satellite designed and built by Dragonfly, the first microsatellite to be manufactured in South Africa since 2009, the first satellite of the EOS SAT constellation and the first agri-focused constellation in space.” said Bryan Dean, CEO and co-founder of Dragonfly Aerospace. “This has been an important project for our whole team and has allowed us to demonstrate our capabilities, not just in producing high-performance electro-optical imagers, but in designing and manufacturing a full imaging satellite system. We are extremely excited and waiting in anticipation for the SpaceX Transporter-6 launch.”
