Apogeo Space collaborates with INNOSPACE for IoT picosatellite launches

Apogeo Space collaborates with INNOSPACE for IoT picosatellite launches
by Erica Marchand
Paris, France (SPX) Apr 22, 2024
Apogeo Space has signed a collaboration with South Korea's INNOSPACE to manage the launches of multiple units for Italy's first private telecommunications satellite constellation dedicated to Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Starting in the second half of 2025, the arrangement includes three launches into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), aiming to deploy Apogeo Space's picosatellites by 2027.

This partnership highlights a significant stride in establishing a reliable global connectivity infrastructure for IoT devices worldwide. The deal supplements an existing agreement with Italy's D-Orbit, bolstering Apogeo Space's access to essential orbital slots for continuous global service.

Guido Parissenti, CEO and co-founder of Apogeo Space, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, "We are excited to partner with such an innovative company as INNOSPACE. This agreement is of great importance as it guarantees us to expand the number of partners that will allow us to complete our IoT picosatellite constellation by 2027."

Soojong Kim, CEO and founder of INNOSPACE, shared, "We are delighted to announce this multi-launch agreement with Apogeo Space and are very proud to undertake the three space missions to deploy the IoT picosatellite constellation. Our small satellite launch vehicle, HANBIT, will provide reliable launches to assist in building the constellation with precision deployment to orbits."

The full deployment schedule envisions 3 to 4 launches annually, each carrying 9 picosatellites measuring only 10x10x3 cm. The initial operation phase is set to start in late 2024, with a total of 96 active satellites by 2027. The first batch of test satellites was launched in November 2023 using SpaceX's Falcon 9 and D-Orbit's Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV).

Apogeo Space's venture is set to boost Italy's profile in the telecommunications domain, with its picosatellites providing a variety of services from agricultural technology to logistics, and environmental monitoring to infrastructure oversight.

The initiative's potential impact on global industries was highlighted in the World Economic Forum's recent Insight Report, citing substantial revenue generation opportunities through IoT advancements across multiple sectors by 2035. Meanwhile, Statista forecasts the presence of 30 billion connected IoT devices globally by 2030, underscoring the expanding scale of digital connectivity.