Rafel Jordà is the founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, the company that designs and manufactures the first Balearic satellite, Posidònia. On 10 June, Jordà will give a presentation entitled The first Balearic satellite: global vision, local action as part of the eForum 2025 conference, which, under the title Building tomorrow today, will bring together experts in the environment, renewable energy, tourism and sustainable architecture for two days at the Es Baluard Museum in Palma.
What stage is the Balearic satellite at?
The design is now finalised and we are receiving the parts for assembly. I know that the UIB Balearic University is already preparing algorithms for use cases and data exploitation. The cameras, with their high-precision optics, will be the last element to be installed. It will be compatible with Open Constellation, our satellite infrastructure created to share the data generated and improve access to information about our planet. This shared capacity reduces overall costs and facilitates access to better quality data more frequently.
Are you on schedule?
Yes. There is a planned launch date, which is 17 February 2026, but this is flexible, depending on the weather conditions on those days and other factors that may arise at the last minute. It will be launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, along with other satellites, on a SpaceX rocket. Each satellite, including Posidonia, will detach from the rocket at the right moment and at the right speed to take up its designated orbit.
How big are we talking about?
480 x 510 x 850 millimetres. To give you an idea, it’s about the size of a washing machine and weighs around 80 kilos. This type of device was unthinkable 10 or 15 years ago, when much larger satellites were needed to obtain the same information. Small in size, they are now very accurate in image capture and processing at relatively low cost, partly because they weigh much less. Their useful life will be at least three years.
It was a bit unusual for you, as a Mallorcan, to excel in the manufacture of satellites for other countries and regions, and for the Balearics not to be among them.
For me, designing and manufacturing the first satellite in the Balearic Islands is a huge satisfaction. Beyond my personal satisfaction, other countries and regions were applying technologies with positive impacts and the Balearic Islands were being left out. The satellite will provide environmental, meteorological, climate change and territorial data... In short, essential information anywhere in the world, but, of course, it must be monitored to establish trends and patterns in order to infer what may happen in the future. It cannot be limited to one-off information. Our satellites represent a modest budget, in this case 4.2 million euros, but their performance is extremely high.
What role will artificial intelligence (AI) play in all this?
Artificial intelligence is a new revolution, just like the agricultural, industrial and information and communication technology revolutions. There are three pillars of artificial intelligence: computing power, AI models themselves and data. All of this is leading us to a new economy, with a world running on real-time data.
In this context, the Balearic Islands cannot be left out.
What do you fear about artificial intelligence?
The industrial revolution brought many good things, but it also brought labour exploitation and pollution. AI can also be misused and become the subject of geopolitical battles, but caution must prevail over alarmism. We have tools such as democracy, education and the development of critical thinking to make good use of AI. I am optimistic and have faith that people are aware that life in society and the planet are the most important things. We must ensure that human beings care for one another. We can and must look at ourselves, but we also have to look at the world around us, without getting distracted by things that are not worthwhile.
Returning to the Balearic satellite, I suppose its use will not be solely public, but that private companies will also be able to take advantage of it for their activities.
Of course. We already use satellites in telecommunications, public transport, cartography and logistics. This information is integrated into our daily lives. The data provided by a satellite such as Posidonia can be very useful for business activity and its future prospects, but, as I said before, we must not limit ourselves to specific information that is limited in time. There has to be continuity in order to establish trends and patterns. I think all of this will be of great interest to companies, if they know how to take advantage of this information.
What is the current business situation at Open Cosmos?
We already have four factories in operation, in Oxford, Coimbra, Barcelona and Athens. In Barcelona, we are manufacturing Posidònia, a name chosen from among the proposals of some 50 educational centres in the islands. We now have a workforce of around 180 people, but we will certainly exceed 200 before the end of the year. We have 10 satellites launched and 22 on order, including Posidònia itself.