SA microsatellite heads to the US to prepare for launch
28 September 2022
News
EOS SAT-1, the first imaging satellite to be built by Dragonfly Aerospace, will soon leave the 3000 m2 Dragonfly Aerospace design and manufacturing facility in Stellenbosch. It will then travel to SpaceX’s launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida for pre-launch testing ahead of the Transporter-6 mission scheduled to launch in December. The satellite will form the first of a seven-satellite constellation in low Earth orbit for customer EOSDA (EOS Data Analytics). The remaining six satellites of the constellation will be deployed over the next three years.
EOS SAT will be the world’s first agriculture-focused satellite constellation, providing the agriculture and forestry industry with high-quality data to support efficient and sustainable practices. Images obtained from Dragonfly’s EOS SAT-1 will deliver valuable information for harvest monitoring, application mapping, seasonal planning and assessments that analyse information such as soil moisture, yield prediction and biomass levels. This data will support growers in their efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help them to develop sustainable agricultural methods without financial losses.
Equipped with two DragonEye electro-optical imagers, EOS SAT-1 will provide 44 km swath panchromatic and multispectral imagery across 11 spectral bands at close to 1 m resolution, making it one of the most powerful satellites in LEO.
Bryan Dean, CEO and Co-founder of Dragonfly Aerospace, said, “This is a key moment for Dragonfly Aerospace and we are thrilled to be delivering EOS SAT-1 with a number of firsts – the first imaging satellite designed and built by Dragonfly, the first to be manufactured in South Africa since 2009, the first satellite of the EOS SAT constellation and the first agri-focused constellation in space.”
“This has been an important project for our whole team and has allowed us to demonstrate our capabilities, not only in producing high-performance electro-optical imagers, but in designing and manufacturing a full imaging satellite system. It’s an amazing feeling to see EOS SAT-1 leave our premises and take the next step in its journey to delivering crucial data that will have important environmental benefits for our planet,” he concluded.
Further reading:
SACEEC celebrates standout industrial innovation on the KITE 2025 show floor
News
Exhibitor innovation took the spotlight at the KITE 2025 as the South African Capital Equipment Export Council announced the winners of its prestigious New Product & Innovation Awards.
Read more...
SA team for International Olympiad in Informatics
News
The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa has named the team that will represent South Africa at this year’s International Olympiad in Informatics.
Read more...
Anritsu and Bluetest to support OTA measurement
News
Anritsu Company and Sweden-based Bluetest AB have jointly developed an Over-The-Air measurement solution to evaluate the performance of 5G IoT devices compliant with the RedCap specification.
Read more...
The current sentiment of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain
News
In its latest report, the Global Electronics Association provides an analysis of the current sentiment and conditions in the global electronics manufacturing supply chain as of June 2025.
Read more...
Global semiconductor sales increase in May
News
The Semiconductor Industry Association recently announced global semiconductor sales were $59,0 billion during the month of May 2025, an increase of 19,8%.
Read more...
New president for Avnet EMEA
News
Avnet has announced that Avnet Silica’s president, Gilles Beltran, will step into the role of president of Avnet EMEA.
Read more...
DARPA sets new record for wireless power beaming
News
In tests performed in New Mexico, the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program team recorded over 800 W of power delivered for about 30 seconds with a laser beam crossing 8,6 kilometres.
Read more...
Nordic Semiconductor acquires Memfault
RF Design
News
With this acquisition, Nordic has launched its first complete chip-to-cloud platform for lifecycle management of connected products.
Read more...
Trina storage demonstrates high efficiency and long-term reliability
News
Independent testing confirms 95,2% DC efficiency and 98% capacity retention after one year of operation.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: AI – a double-edged sword
Technews Publishing
News
As with any powerful tool, AI presents challenges, some of which, if not carefully managed, threaten to undo the potential that it can offer.
Read more...
printer friendly version