NewSpace | Satellite Missions

Satellite Missions

The NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia promotes missions to strengthen the space sector in the region.

The Area for the Promotion of the Space Sector of Catalonia (APEC), within the IEEC, promotes satellite data services through the launch of low-Earth orbit missions, within the framework of the NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia. These missions aim to strengthen the space sector in Catalonia by providing data and services for the development of high value-added applications, based on digital technologies, and strongly aligned with strategic sectors.

Satellite data services enable innovation in applications based on Earth observation payloads and missions that complement major European programme infrastructures, such as Copernicus.

Satellite services are provided at the IEEC, which collaborates with other R&D centers, departments, and bodies of the Government of Catalonia to study different use cases and their possible applications. These activities are carried out in collaboration with the i2CAT Foundation and the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC).

The IEEC currently manages, or has recently managed, the following satellite missions:

Enxaneta

The ‘Enxaneta’ mission was the first of the nanosatellites placed in orbit by the Government of Catalonia, dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT). It was named by the children of Catalonia through an initiative of the youth programme InfoK on TV3.

Technically known as GENIOT-01, Enxaneta was a 3U nanosatellite (according to the CubeSat standard, 1U is a cube with 10 cm sides) carrying a payload that enabled communication between ground devices and the satellite, allowing data transmission from areas with difficult access or without coverage from conventional terrestrial networks.

Launched into orbit on 22 March 2021, it successfully completed its mission on 29 July 2024, when it disintegrated upon re-entry into the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Naming

Launch

First Use Case

Mission End

Menut

‘Menut’ is the second mission, and the first Earth Observation mission, of the NewSpace Strategy. Also known through the youth programme InfoK, and technically known as GENEO-01, the mission was launched on 3 January 2023 from the Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex in Florida, USA. Menut is a 6U nanosatellite (six units) equipped with a multispectral camera as its payload, allowing it to capture images of the Earth in different spectral bands, dedicated to territorial study.

In addition, Menut carries a secondary payload developed by the IEEC, the C3SatP. The C3SatP is a prototype high-performance onboard computer for data processing and compression, among other applications.

Through this in-orbit demonstration opportunity (IOD), the C3SatP is operating for the first time under real conditions, accelerating its readiness for the commercial market.

Naming

Launch

First Images

Visor Menut

Open Constellation

I Use Case Competition

Resolution of the 1st Use Case Competition

2nd Use Case Competition

Resolution of the 2nd Use Case Competition

MOT Project

MARE Project

GENEO-02

The second Earth Observation mission of the NewSpace Strategy, technically known as GENEO-02, will complement, expand, and enhance the capabilities of the first Earth Observation mission, Menut.

It will be a microsatellite weighing around 50 kg (approximately five times the size of Menut), equipped with a multispectral camera offering much higher resolution than Menut’s, and an IoT communications system.

The new mission will increase opportunities to obtain exclusive images of Catalonia, strengthening Menut’s capabilities as a tool for territorial management and in the fight against the climate crisis. Additionally, GENEO-02 will carry an in-orbit technology demonstrator (IOD) to validate its operation in space.