African Space Industry to benefit from high-res satellite imagery

GeoTerraImage will leverage Satellogic’s high-resolution multispectral satellite data and low-latency hyperspectral data for large-scale agriculture management to help the continent develop new food systems and food-security solutions.

According to the 2020 Edition of African Space Industry Annual Report, demand for space data is increasing at an exponential rate in Africa. The industry, which is growing at a CAGR of 7.3%, is expected to reach $10B USD by 2024. Over $717M USD was spent on satellite projects in 2019. From 2010 to 2020 the African EO and geospatial sector grew by 96% or about 10% annually.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for the African space industry. Satellogic is thrilled for the opportunity to contribute to the continued growth and development of the region’s geospatial capabilities,” said Thomas VanMatre, vice president of global business development, Satellogic. “By providing high-resolution, high-frequency imagery at an affordable price point, Satellogic will help GeoTerraImage solve some of the most challenging resource-allocation and food-security challenges of our time.”

Along with Satellogic’s multispectral data, GeoTerraImage will leverage Satellogic’s unique, low-latency hyperspectral imagery offering for large-scale agriculture applications across the globe.

“Together, as a result of this partnership, GeoTerraImage and Satellogic are bringing an unmatched capability to market,” said Pieter Sevenhuysen, director at GeoTerraImage. “Utilising Satellogic’s low-latency hyperspectral imagery, GeoTerra’s comprehensive agriculture offering will provide unmatched value in the agriculture vertical.”

GeoTerraImage is also a key player in the telecoms vertical. The opportunity to use Satellogic’s multispectral imaging to identify different types of architecture and building structures at high resolution enhances the quality of network planning data products, especially where propagation of high frequency bands is extremely sensitive to interferences from different architectural materials and vegetation.

“For telecoms, Satellogic’s high frequency update is an advantage both in terms of the likelihood of acquiring cloud free, usable imagery when it is needed, as well as ensuring up-to-date relevance of image content,” said Mark Thompson, director at GeoTerraImage.

Satellogic’s patented camera design uses adaptive optics to collect 10 to 20 times more data from a single satellite than any other small Earth Observation satellite. Satellogic satellites can capture images continuously when they are on top of land and are capable of collecting more than 300,000 sq. km of data per day, significantly more than any competitor. The company continues to manufacture their own satellites and launch with SpaceX and other launch partners.