One of Europe’s tourism hot spots has commissioned Open Cosmos to build a satellite to track whether climate change could put the islands’ economy under water, the company announced today.
The government of the Balearic Islands—an archipelago that includes Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca, and Formentera—will fund the sat’s construction, which will be carried out in collaboration with Wireless DNA, a telecommunications firm; the University of the Balearic Islands; Garden Hotels; and support from the Hotel Business Federation of Mallorca.
Baywatch: The satellite, which will be named by children in the Balearic Islands school system, is expected to launch in the final quarter of this year. Its goal is to keep a watchful eye over the archipelago—monitoring changes in the Western Mediterranean’s climate to boost resilience in the island chain’s tourism sector.
While there’s a wealth of EO data on the region from companies like BlackSky and Planet, the Balearic Islands chose a dedicated Open Cosmos satellite to keep costs lower over time, according to Open Cosmos CEO Rafel Jorda Siquier.
Having a dedicated sat also gives the entire archipelago access to build applications unique to the region and its economic interests.
Imagery and data from the satellite will be shared with academic researchers, local administrators and companies to help inform more sustainable tourism practices and defend against increasingly common environmental disasters in the region.
Island tech: The satellite will be the Balearic Island’s first piece of hardware in orbit, but the local government hopes it’s a signal of a more tech-forward future.
“This satellite is much more than a technological advance; it is a commitment to the future of our islands. It reinforces our vision of sustainability and positions us as a benchmark in innovation within the global space and tourism sector,” Balearic Islands’ President Margalida Prohens said in a statement.
This article was updated to include comment from Open Cosmos.
