MH-1 is the first satellite developed, built and operated from Portugal. It is launched today, around 10 pm, from the Space-X base in California, USA.
The MH-1 is the result of an international partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It was led by Thales Edisoft Portugal with CEiiA and involved a consortium of 12 entities, including the companies SpinWorks and Dstelecom and the Universities of Minho, Porto and Algarve, the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), CoLab + Atlântico, the Okeanos and the Air Centre.
CEiiA is the owner of the satellite and was responsible for developing the structure and full integration, including qualification tests and logistics associated with the launch. The operation of MH1 will be ensured by GEOSAT, a subsidiary of CEIIA and Omnideia. The MH-1 is equipped with a Hyperspectral camera from Spinworks and communications from Dstelecom. Thales was responsible for the software, ground station, the first checks after launch and the first cycle of operation. Opencosmos played an important role in the logistics supporting the launch. It is also worth highlighting the importance of ANACOM in the satellite licensing process.
According to Rui Magalhães, director of the CEiiA Space unit, “one of the main challenges of the Aeros project, which in June was a prototype, was to transform it into a “flying space system”, the MH1.
According to Dava Newman, astronaut, former NASA administrator and professor of the Apollo program for astronauts at MIT, “the research and technical and technological development of the Aeros project exceeded all expectations, as it went from a prototype to a flying system in space” , he said, highlighting the role of CEiiA in the entire process until the launch of the satellite.
Dava Newman highlighted that the partnership between Portuguese institutions and international universities such as MIT is essential and must be maintained. “It results in new training and highly skilled jobs for a new generation of leading multidisciplinary systems engineers for our space future and our future here on Earth. We are training future leaders in important sectors such as climate, space, oceans, urbanism, mobility and energy,” she added.
The launch of MH-1 represents a step in a much broader strategy in the area of Space that involves the development of the first family of high and very high-resolution satellites that is already under development in Portugal, from CEiiA with the English company Opencosmos and the German HBO.
This new generation of satellites will replace the current satellites operated by Geosat (which is, along with Airbus, one of the two operators of very high-resolution satellites in Europe) and are part of the Portuguese participation in the Atlantic Constellation.
The launch of the MH-1 will be monitored at CEiiA, starting at 8 pm tomorrow. During the ceremony, the meaning of the name given to the satellite will also be explained.
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