Italy creates private IoT constellation
December 1, 2023
By Chris Forrester
Italy has launched 9 small satellites (‘pico-sized’) which will provide global coverage for Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity. Apogeo Space says it is creating Italy’s first private satellite constellation to provide a telecommunication service for Internet of Things (IoT) devices and has released the firm’s first batch of nine smallsats.
The fleet was launched on November 11th and this small constellation will be expanded in order to improve coverage and speed of response.
The launching of the first nine satellites happened with D-Orbit vector, an orbital logistics and transportation company headquartered in Fino Mornasco (near Como, Italy), an all-Italian tandem operation and making a significant step for an advanced and low-cost satellite telecommunication service.
Apogeo Space’s next batch are scheduled for launch in March 2024. Thereafter, a launch is planned every three to four months, each one always composed of nine satellites measuring just 10x10x3 cm, for the realisation of Italy’s first private telecommunications constellation for IoT, which will be completed by 2027, when there will be 96 active pico-satellites on-orbit.
Apogeo Space wants to be the first Italian company able to compete in the international arena of telecommunications for IoT. Apogeo Space aims to establish its LEO smallsat constellation to offer global telecommunications coverage and a full range of advanced services. These services include data collection for a variety of applications, from agri-tech to integrated logistics, from forest and glacier monitoring to oil & gas, from large watersheds to networks and infrastructure.
“We are proud and excited about the release of our first batch of satellites, a project that started from far away. It took years of design and experimentation that, thanks to the main support of Primo Space fund, were able to find industrial concreteness. We look to the future with enthusiasm, aiming to make an important contribution in the world of telecommunications for IoT,” commented Eng. Guido Parissenti, CEO and Co-Founder, Apogeo Space