South African Launch Of World’s First Agri-Focused Satellite Will Generate Revenue Of $108 million
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- 31 Jan 2023
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Dragonfly Aerospace launched the satellite, called AgriSAT-1 /ZA 008, on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket
The successful launch of the world’s first agri-focused satellite is expected to generate over USD 100 million in revenue, said the Chairperson of the South African Council for Space Affairs.
Pontsho Maruping said in a statement on Friday that the launch of the satellite from Cape Canaveral last week was a historical milestone in the South African space regulatory regime since it is the first ever-commercial satellite licensed in South Africa following seven government-sponsored satellites.
Dragonfly Aerospace launched the satellite, called AgriSAT-1 /ZA 008, on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket.
“This successful launch by Dragonfly shows yet again South Africa’s international capability in the space industry and will boost its credibility for investment in the space area. The launch will enable Dragonfly to continue with its other projects of building a constellation of satellites, whilst firming up localisation through the involvement of other companies in this sector and related sector,” Maruping said.
“It is understood that with this launch, there is an estimated future revenue to South Africa of USD 108 m pending successful operation,” Maruping said, adding that other benefits include an increase in the company’s productive capacities, employing and skilling more high-value personnel and enabling broader benefits to other related companies in the industry.
The satellite is 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.
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. Read More…
