The Posidonia satellite, the first in the history of the Balearics and which will be used to monitor climate change-related phenomena and manage natural emergencies, is now fully completed and ready for launch this summer.
The Regional Minister for Economy, Finance and Innovation, Antoni Costa, visited the facilities of Open Cosmos, the headquarters of which is in England, the company that developed the satellite, on Thursday to see the final stage of the project first-hand.
During the visit, Costa toured the company’s R&D&I areas and satellite factory, where technical staff explained the various processes involved in the development, integration and validation of the space devices they manufacture.
Subsequently, as reported by the Regional Ministry in a statement, he was granted access to the Clean Room, the high-security, climate-controlled facility where the Posidonia satellite is housed, and signed the device’s outer structure prior to its dispatch for launch.
The Posidonia project, co-financed with three million euros in European funds from the Regional Government and three million euros in collaboration with Open Cosmos, the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), Wireless DNA and Garden Hotels, aims to obtain high-resolution data and images to advance the fight against climate change, territorial management and the sustainability of tourism in the islands.
‘The Posidonia project symbolises the Balearic Islands’ ability to lead innovative initiatives with a real impact on the region and on the future of our economy. Public-private collaboration is enabling us to put ourselves on the international map of innovation and the aerospace sector, with a technological infrastructure that will provide key information for making strategic decisions based on scientific data,’ said Costa.
For his part, the CEO and founder of Open Cosmos, Rafael Jordà, stated that seeing the Posidonia satellite fully completed ‘is a historic milestone’ and demonstrates that from the Balearics ‘it is possible to drive high-level international technological initiatives, generating knowledge, innovation and new economic opportunities linked to the space sector’.
The satellite will enable the monitoring of phenomena related to climate change, sea temperature, coastal evolution, human pressure on the territory and the management of natural emergencies, amongst other applications. Furthermore, it will facilitate access to strategic data for public administrations, research centres and companies across the Balearics.