Author: Scanway
Publication date:
Scanway, a leading company in the field of space-based observation technology, will collaborate with Marble Imaging on the SEMOViS project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of the InCubed program. Scanway will develop and deliver two telescopes for the demonstration microsatellite, including one operating in the visible spectrum with a resolution of less than 1 meter per pixel, for a future very high-resolution Earth observation constellation (VHR) being developed by its partner, the German company Marble Imaging, with which the Company entered into a cooperation agreement last November. The launch of the demonstration satellite into low Earth orbit is planned for late 2025 or early 2026. The total amount of funding for the project from ESA is 3.94 million EUR, of which 3.2 million EUR is allocated to Scanway and 0.74 million EUR to Marble Imaging. Reflex Aerospace will supply the satellite platform, and Exolaunch will be responsible for launching the satellite, guaranteeing a free launch slot as a result of Marble Imaging and Scanway winning the prestigious “Small Satellite Initiative” competition organized by DLR—the German Aerospace Center—in November 2023.
The InCubed program is one of ESA’s optional programs, to which Poland subscribed in 2023 as part of its efforts to increase its contribution to ESA. The total budget for Poland’s subscription to ESA optional programs for 2023–2025 is 200 mln PLN. In addition to InCubed 2, Scanway is listed as a potential payload provider for at least four other programs with a combined value of several dozen million PLN.
– The agreement, signed for a total value of 3.2 million EUR, is the largest contract in Scanway’s history and is intended for the implementation of our most ambitious project to date. Together with Marble Imaging, we intend to develop Europe’s first satellite constellation to provide very high-resolution (VHR) multispectral Earth data. In the New Space segment, only one European company has so far been capable of delivering this type of solution, which allows us to significantly expand our pool of potential customers. VHR data captures more information and detail, making it a sought-after source of information for issues related to, among other things, national security, climate change adaptation strategies, and rapid response and disaster mitigation. Data of this kind is often sourced from companies outside Europe, which creates a number of risks related to the supply chain and on-demand availability. Together with Marble Imaging, we are building a solution that ensures Europe’s independence and autonomy through easy and uninterrupted access to VHR data. “The demonstration satellite will be the first, very important step toward this goal,” comments Jędrzej Kowalewski, CEO of Scanway S.A.
The contract entered into by Scanway is valid for 2 years from the date of signing and is settled on the basis of an initial payment and payments for the completion of specific stages, known as milestones. Scanway expects to receive approximately 1.6 million EUR in 2024 and approximately 1.6 million EUR in both 2025 and 2026 from the performance of the agreement.
The demonstration satellite will be equipped with a telescope with a ground sample distance (GSD) of less than 1 meter per pixel in the visible (VIS) band, and it is also possible to retrofit it with an instrument in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) band with a resolution of less than 10 meters per pixel. The entire satellite will weigh approximately 100 kg. Data processing will be performed using algorithms developed by Marble Imaging and Scanway. The data and analyses obtained in this way will serve as a valuable source of information for many customers in the EU and around the world. The collaboration between the companies aims to strengthen the European Earth Observation industry.
– As part of a project being carried out for ESA, Scanway will, for the first time, deliver a telescope with a resolution of less than 1 meter from an orbit of approximately 500 km. This technical capability—increasingly sought after by global payload customers—is another key differentiator for Scanway compared to the competition. The satellite’s weight of approximately 100 kg also points to a strategic direction for us: the ability to deliver larger, heavier, and higher-margin payloads—a direction that aligns very well with market trends, where both our domestic and foreign satellite platform suppliers plan to further scale their platforms to support increasingly larger microsatellites. The telescope we will supply for the demonstration satellite will be approximately twice as large as the one we used in the EagleEye project—the largest satellite to date in the history of the Polish space sector. We are also pleased with the trust placed in us by ESA and our partners, which allows us to carry out such technologically advanced projects even before the launch and testing of EagleEye; this kind of confirmation of our competence and this reference are invaluable to us,” comments Mikołaj Podgórski, COO and co-founder of Scanway.
Reflex Aerospace will provide the satellite platform, and Exolaunch will be responsible for launching the demonstration satellite. The Berlin-based company has been responsible for over 80% of German small satellite launches over the past 10 years and has carried out several missions supported by the DLR—the German Aerospace Center. The current DLR contract with Exolaunch, as part of the “Small Satellite Initiative” competition, includes guaranteeing launch slots on small launch vehicles for the winning entities, as well as coordinating launch campaigns and providing the necessary technical guidelines and peripheral equipment to satellite and payload manufacturers. In addition, Exolaunch will oversee qualification tests, compatibility analyses, and production-
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The success of the demonstration satellite mission will pave the way for the planned construction of a constellation, in which Scanway could potentially supply imaging telescopes with an estimated unit price of approximately 1.1 million EUR per imaging instrument. Scanway develops and commercializes two business lines: products for the space sector (optical instruments for Earth observation and satellite self-diagnostics) and for industry (vision systems). Thanks to the STAR VIBE mission and the launch in early 2023 of a satellite equipped with a vision system and an optical telescope developed and manufactured in the company’s laboratories, Scanway has acquired “flight heritage”—confirming the reliability and functionality of its solutions in space conditions. The Polish satellite regularly captures new images of Earth, and the Company receives the best images from space ever obtained by Polish research instruments.
About Scanway:
Scanway is a Polish company operating in the field of observation technology and machine vision. The company develops and commercializes two business lines: products for the space sector (optical instruments for Earth observation and satellite self-diagnostics) and for the manufacturing industry (machine vision systems).
Scanway is the only company in Poland—and one of only a dozen or so companies worldwide—to have developed a comprehensive technology for Earth observation and the self-diagnostics of satellites and spacecraft. The company offers complete systems based on its own proprietary algorithms for image processing and analysis. As part of the STAR VIBE mission in 2023, a satellite was launched carrying a imaging system and an optical telescope developed and manufactured in the company’s laboratories; thereby establishing flight heritage and delivering the best images from space ever obtained by Polish satellite instruments. The company is also a key consortium member in Poland’s largest space projects, including EagleEye and PIAST.
The Company also aims to apply space-based solutions in the manufacturing industry. Scanway provides technological solutions tailored to the needs of medium and large manufacturing plants, primarily in the area of quality control. In October 2023, Scanway made its debut on the NewConnect market. For more information:
, https://scanway.pl/, and https://scanway.space/
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