WASHINGTON — European small satellite maker Open Cosmos has won a contract to build a constellation of seven satellites for the Greek government.
OpenCosmos announced on May 29 that it had won a 60 million euro ($65 million) contract to build seven satellites. The satellites will be equipped with optical and hyperspectral cameras, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers. The contract is being funded by the Greek government and will be managed by the European Space Agency.
The company gave few technical details about the satellite, such as the capabilities of the payload or the size of the spacecraft, and did not disclose a launch date. A company spokesman declined to answer questions about the contract.
As part of the deal, Open Cosmos, which is headquartered in the UK and has offices in France and Spain, will set up a new office in Greece to lead work on the satellite.
“By investing in the space programme, both in capacity purchases and capacity building, our aim is to stimulate a domestic high-tech space industry, boost job creation, retain skilled engineers and space experts in the country and attract new talent,” Greek Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou said in a statement.
Open Cosmos said the Greek satellites are “fully compatible” with the Atlantic Constellation, a Portuguese- and Spanish-led initiative to develop a satellite network for climate monitoring and disaster mitigation. The satellites will also be integrated into the Open Constellation, a satellite-sharing virtual constellation led by Open Cosmos.
“We were up against some of the world's leading companies in our industry, and this win is a true testament to the hard work of everyone at Open Cosmos and the strength of our advanced satellite technology,” said Rafel Jorda Sikie, founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, in a statement. “The execution of this contract places us at the forefront of satellite data providers, opening the door to further collaboration and growth of the open constellation.”
Open Cosmos raised $50 million in a Series B round in September 2023. At the time, the company, which was developing CubeSat-class spacecraft, said it would use the funds to expand into larger nanosatellites and help build an open constellation.
