Daniel Sors Raurell, CEO of OpenCosmos, a space technology company located at Harwell Space Campus in Oxfordshire, is proud to announce the development of a new satellite that will aid scientists in monitoring climate change and natural disasters. The UK has joined forces with Portugal and Spain as part of the Atlantic Constellation project, which aims to create a group of satellites that can track the Earth’s environment and provide early warning signs for climate change indicators.
The UK Space Agency has provided £3 million in funding for a new pathfinder satellite, which will be co-funded by Open Cosmos. This new satellite is expected to provide valuable and regularly updated data on the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces. With this information, scientists can better understand the factors contributing to natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes.
Andrew Griffith, Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), expressed his enthusiasm for this collaboration with Open Cosmos: “Earth observation will play an absolutely vital role in tackling global challenges like climate change and disaster relief,” he said. “This partnership with Open Cosmos will allow us to harness space technology to gather data quickly while supporting key UK industries such as agriculture and energy.”
By working together with Portugal and Spain through the Atlantic Constellation project, the UK can further its commitment to using space technology to address pressing global issues while creating new job opportunities in the industry. The UK Space Conference in Belfast serves as a platform for these collaborations between international partners.