Spain makes history with the installation in the ISS of the first miniaturised camera developed by SATLANTIS
After 7 years of technological development and an investment of more than 16 million €, the Spanish company SATLANTIS has achieved a major milestone within the Space industry. For the first time, a miniaturised Earth Observation camera capable of achieving submeter resolution has been installed aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
To commemorate this remarkable achievement, SATLANTIS held an online event with the participation of the Vice President of the Spanish Government Teresa Ribera and His Majesty the King Felipe VI of Spain, who talked for a few minutes to ISS Commander Christopher Cassidy in charge of the installation of the camera.
The payload developed by SATLANTIS weighs only 15kg, which is approximately 80% less than instruments of comparable performance. At a frame rate of 20 images per second, the iSIM-170 camera will produce high-resolution images of our planet that will serve a wide range of applications. Detecting floating plastics, monitoring algae blooms, or preventing wildfires are only a few examples of the uses of this novel technology. Commander Cassidy told the participants that he felt “very fortunate to be the last person to touch the camera before it goes into Space”.
“To have a piece of equipment as sophisticated as this camera, on the Japanese module of the ISS, and being installed by an US astronaut in a very multinational and collaborative spirit, is something very stimulating for all of us.” said the Spanish Monarch. It is precisely the American-Japanese-Spanish alliance that has made this project possible.
Together with HM the King Felipe VI and Vice President Teresa Ribera, the online event included the participation of a number of distinguished guests: Cristina Garmendia – Chairwoman of Satlantis, Daniel Calleja – Director General for Environment at the European Commission, Koichi Wakata – Astronaut & Senior Advisor at JAXA, James Morhard – Deputy Administrator at NASA, Arantxa Tapia – Basque Regional Minister of Economic Development & Infrastructures, Toshi Fujiwara – Senior Executive Vice President at NTT DATA, Luigi Pasquali – CEO TELESPAZIO GROUP, David Norton – VicePresident for Research at the University of Florida and Masatoshi Nagasaki – co-Founder & CEO of SPACE BD. The event was moderated by Juan Tomás Hernani, CEO of SATLANTIS.
Links to other news:
ACTUALIDAD AEROESPACIAL: https://actualidadaeroespacial.com/el-rey-conectara-esta-tarde-con-la-iss-tras-la-instalacion-de-la-isim-170-de-la-empresa-espanola-satlantis/?
EL MUNDO: https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/ciencia/2020/06/09/5edfc51efc6c83d4758b45e1.html
LA VANGUARDIA: https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20200609/481699689891/rey-estacion-espacial-chris-cassidy-cristina-garmendia.html
INFOESPACIAL: http://www.infoespacial.com/es/2020/06/10/noticia-camara-satlantis-instalada-exitosamente.html
RTVE: https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/telediario/telediario-21-horas-09-06-20/5592789/