- SatRevolution and Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit deal
- This means that SatRevolution is now valued at $150 million
- In November this year, SatRev signed an agreement with Neumann Space from Australia
Virgin Orbit is a company founded by Richard Branson. It specializes in sending small payloads into space.
Now Branson’s company will invest in SatRevolution in Wroclaw on Stablowicka Street (SatRev operates on the premises of Research Network Łukasiewicz – Port of Poland Technology Development Centre). The investment means that SatRev is currently valued at around $150 million.
Exactly how much SatRevolution will acquire from Virgin Orbit is unknown, as the companies do not reveal details. It is known that the Wroclaw company needs 30 million dollars for further development and part of this amount will be invested by Branson’s company.
The deal, signed during the World Satellite Business Week in Paris, follows the partnership established between SatRev and Virgin Orbit in June this year, through which the companies plan to develop business applications for use by nanosatellites. Read also: Wroclaw-based SatRevolution in the Middle East space program.
SatRev has so far launched two satellites from Virgin Orbit as part of the LauncherOne Tubular Bells: Part One mission. Two more SatRev satellites are awaiting launch as part of the Virgin Orbit Above the Clouds mission, which is expected to be launched next month.
SatRev NewSpace Nanosat
SatRev’s nanosatellite technologies include the Stork medium resolution Earth observation platform and ScopeSat. These technologies provide near real-time Earth observation capabilities at high resolution.
Grzegorz Zwolinski, co-founder and CEO of SatRev, emphasizes that the world needs more affordable Earth observation data and his company is able to offer that.
After four years of research and development by multidisciplinary teams of scientists and engineers, we are ready to enter the market. Our partnership with Virgin Orbit will help us develop key relationships with existing and new customers and provide us with the speed, momentum and capability to deliver long-term solutions – Grzegorz Zwolinski, co-founder and CEO of SatRev.
It is worth remembering that Wroclaw will also use the images taken by SatRevolution in space for sustainable development, Smart City and transportation. The founders of SatRevolution are the winners of the “30 Creative Wroclaw 2017” award.
SatRev and Virgin Orbit. Earth observation is worth billions of dollars
According to Euroconsult, the total value of the global market for satellite imagery (weekly mapping) services could reach $140 billion by 2026. The key to successfully entering this market is the ability to monitor the Earth at high resolution, high frequency and at an affordable price. SatRev and Virgin Orbit intend to work together in this market.