Open Cosmos launches Earth Observation satellite for Open Constellation

Author: EIS Release Date: Jan 13, 2023

Open Cosmos, the Harwell, Oxfordshire-based company, has successfully launched its MENUT Earth Observation satellite into space.

 

The 6U nanosatellite – which will monitor weather and environmental changes, along with the sustainable use of natural resources – was deployed into sun-synchronous orbit by Exolaunch’s EXOpod Nova deployer, launched as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission.

 

Open Cosmos was contracted by the Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC) in 2021 to build the first earth observation satellite of its NewSpace strategy to develop the space sector.

 

On board is an optical payload and advanced on-board processing that will allow it to take pictures anywhere in the world from it’s sun synchronous polar orbit.

 

The company is currently proceeding to commission the satellite:

 

???? SUCCESS ????

 

After successful launch from @SpaceX , successful deployment from the @Exolaunch deployer, we made first contact with our satellite yesterday evening. Telemetries are nominal, we are now on our way to commissioning the satellite.#menut #spacetechnology #newspace pic.twitter.com/7nE5ZB5Ban

 

— Open Cosmos (@Open_Cosmos) January 4, 2023

 

“We’re delighted to be launching MENUT,” said Aleix Megias, VP of Operations at Open Cosmos.

 

“The project will enable national and regional governments, as well as organisations to access insightful and actionable data from space from a revolutionary shared space infrastructure model. This wouldn’t be possible without partners that share our mission to make space data and infrastructure more accessible and it was great to work closely with Exolaunch to launch MENUT.”

 

Today we launch the satellite #Menut to monitor the climate emergency and sustainable use of natural resources as part of the #OpenConatellation. ????

You can see it live here at 14:56 UTC:https://t.co/mByQ0tkQZl

 

— Rafael Jordá Siquier (@RafelJorda) January 3, 2023

 

The launch was SpaceX’s sixth dedicated ride-share mission and its first of 2023. Specifically, it was on a Falcon 9 launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday.

 

In total there were 114 payloads on the flight, including CubeSats, microsats, picosats and orbital transfer vehicles.

 

The MENUT satellite will be part of Open Cosmos’s Open Constellation, which the company announced back in September 2022. The project, which is described as a shared satellite infrastructure, will be built and managed by Open Cosmos with the aim to provide data to address challenges around climate change. Essentially, entities that contribute satellites to the constellation gain access to the wider data.

 

Later this month, on board the scheduled first European launch of satellites – imminently due to take off from Cornwall – will be a research satellite from RHEA Group, which was also built in Oxfordshire by Open Cosmos.