ESA BIC Open Cosmos: One-Stop-Shop to be in orbit in just 10 months
ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) UK start-up company Open Cosmos provides simple, quick and affordable space access allowing businesses, research institutions and organizations from across industries to use space technologies as a tool. Meet Open Cosmos at ESA's Start-ups Zone powered by ESA space solutions at IAC 2018.
Get into space with Open Cosmos´s services. The company provides all the tools necessary to develop, launch and operate the satellites in orbit.
Started by Rafel Jorda-Siquier, now CEO, Open Cosmos takes customers´ payload from early design phases to launch and operations on nanosatellites with a payload of up to 20kg at a fraction of the cost and time when compared to conventional options.
While it traditionally takes several years and costs of millions of euros to get satellites into orbit, this UK-based company offers a one-stop-shop solution that slashes both time and price.
The baseline total cost for a three-unit nano-satellite mission starts at UK£500 000 (about €600 000) and the timescale from planning to launch is less than one year.
Mass customization of satellites
“This is actually about opening the [satellite] market to entrepreneurs, researchers, developing countries and other industries so that they can use our technologies as a tool,” explained Rafel Jorda-Siquier.
“For example, one of our customers want to monitor 400km of pipeline in the south of Spain. Another one wants to test an innovative camera in space.”
The solutions Open Cosmos propose are based on a range of multi-purpose nano-satellites with a payload agnostic approach.
“We are building a small and affordable platform, which removes three space access barriers: complex technology, paper work and costs. We are doing that by supplying our customers with a set of development tools that allow them to build their own technology at their own pace,” explained Rafel Jorda-Siquier.
Joined ESA BIC UK to boost the business
Open Cosmos, founded in 2015 and now hosted at the ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) UK, provides end-to-end mission services that allow its customers to focus on their specific needs for getting in-orbit data and not having to worry about how to get the satellite into orbit.
The company enables dedicated nano-satellite missions for remote sensing payloads, Internet of Things (IOT), telecommunication services, scientific research and space technology in-orbit demonstration and validation.
Open Cosmos manufactures its satellites in-house, procures launch services from partners and operates its satellite fleets using its own satellite operations system while leveraging existing ground segment infrastructure.
Open Cosmos designed and delivered its first concept nano-satellite (qb01) in just 6 months with a launch granted by the European Commission. The current commercial pipeline contains multiple customers involving an entire nano-satellite mission for ESA, in-orbit demonstrators and constellations for both private and public commercial customers.
The team to open up for affordable access to space
Open Cosmos employs 35+ people of more than 10 nationalities and is currently looking to attract more talent to enable simple and affordable access to space.
Open Cosmos raised $7 million in a series A funding round as part of its mission to make satellites more affordable and more accessible to everyone. It is based in ESA BIC UK located at Harwell Campus in the UK and is looking to manufacture 30 satellites a year
World's largest ecosystem for space-related entrepreneurship
ESA’s Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Programme Office (TTPO) operates the ‘ESA space solutions’ network of Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs) and Technology Transfer Brokers offering complete access to all aspects of space-related innovation, technology and intellectual properties and is a gateway to ESA and European space research and developments.
Today, there are 20 ESA BICs in 17 European countries – Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and UK – forming the largest ecosystem in the world for space-related entrepreneurship.
Over 650 start-ups have been fostered and another 150 new start-ups are taken in yearly at ESA BICs to be supported under the two-years business development boosting programme.
Visit “Start-ups Zone powered by ESA space solutions”
Meet all the start-ups from 1 October until 5 October at the dedicated Start-ups Zone powered by ESA space solutions at IAC 2018 area at IAC 2018.
Open Cosmos entrepreneurs will be at the Start-ups Zone at IAC 2018 from 1 October until 3 October noon, and be pitching their business 2 October.
