Johannesburg: The successful launch of the world’s first agriculture-focused satellite is expected to generate more than $100 million in revenue, the president of South Africa’s Space Affairs Council has said. Pontsho Maruping said in a statement on Friday that the launch of the satellite from Cape Canaveral last week was a historic milestone in South Africa’s space regulatory regime, as it is the first licensed commercial satellite in South Africa after seven government-sponsored satellites. .
Dragonfly Aerospace launched the satellite, called AgriSAT-1/ZA 008, on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket.
“This successful launch of Dragonfly once again shows South Africa’s international capacity in the space industry and will increase its credibility to invest in the space area. The launch will allow Dragonfly to continue with its other satellite constellation construction projects, while reaffirms localization through the participation of other companies in this sector and related sectors,” said Maruping.
“It is understood that with this launch, there is an estimated future revenue for South Africa of $108 million pending a successful operation,” Maruping said, adding that other benefits include an increase in the company’s productive capabilities, employing and training more high value people. personnel and allowing broader benefits to other related companies in the industry.
The satellite is the first of a constellation of seven satellites in low Earth orbit for the client EOSDA (EOS Data Analytics). The remaining six satellites in the constellation will be deployed over the next three years.
It is the world’s first agriculture-focused satellite constellation providing the agriculture and forestry industry with high-quality data to support efficient and sustainable practices.
The images obtained from Dragonfly’s satellite will provide valuable information for crop monitoring, application mapping, seasonal planning, and assessments that look at information such as soil moisture, yield prediction, and biomass levels. This data will help producers reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help them develop sustainable farming methods.
Such information will have significant environmental benefits for the planet and will help prevent natural habitats from being reduced for growing crops and maintaining biodiversity, the company said.
“This is a milestone moment for Dragonfly Aerospace, and we are delighted to deliver the EOS SAT-1 with several firsts: the first imaging satellite designed and built by Dragonfly, the first microsatellite manufactured in South Africa since 2009, the first satellite in the EOS constellation SAT and the first agriculture-focused constellation in space,” said Bryan Dean, CEO and co-founder of Dragonfly Aerospace.
Dragonfly Aerospace was founded in 2019 in the Western Cape Province by a group of experienced aerospace engineers who have been at the forefront of South Africa’s exceptionally successful aerospace industry since the launch of the country’s first Earth observation satellite in 1999. They have worked on each South African Microsatellite Mission.
