Open Cosmos is expanding its operations in Portugal, including opening the facilities where it will build three new EO satellites to join its existing constellation.
The European space tech startup, which already has offices in the UK, Spain, and Greece, will open a clean room in Coimbra in addition to its growing offices in Porto. The firm will lead the development of three high-res Portuguese satellites that will be operated by Open Cosmos and contribute to its OpenConstellation infrastructure.
Open observation: OpenConstellation was created to make it easier to share data collected by satellites, cutting costs and boosting access.
The Portuguese sats will include both EO and Internet of Things payloads to help with missions including ocean monitoring, wildfire tracking, and studying climate change.
“With an expanded satellite network, each member can access up to three times more data, leading to shorter revisit times and more extensive coverage,” the company wrote in a press release.
A win for Portugal: Open Cosmos’ expansion in Portugal is a major step forward for the nation’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), which aims to make Portugal a leader in the EO market.
“Nurturing local talent and leveraging existing skills in satellite manufacturing will allow Portugal to address the requirements of the African, European, and Latin American markets,” Open Cosmos wrote in the release. “This will not only stimulate the growth of the sector but also generate employment opportunities and contribute to the overall economic development of the country.”
What’s next: Open Cosmos’ new facilities should be fully operational early next year as the startup’s Portuguese office is also “rapidly increasing its headcount,” according to the release.
