Canary Islands on the Verge of a Second Space Conquest
The Canary Islands are one step closer to conquering space for a second time. The ‘Islas Canarias’ constellation, which will become a guardian against fires, volcanoes, and the effects of climate change across the archipelago, is just three years away from becoming a reality. The company tasked with this challenge is Telespazio Ibérica, which will develop and launch three new satellites into space in 2028.
A Game-Changer for Emergency Management
Carlos Fernández, the head of the company, is enthusiastic, stating that the project will be a major boost not only for his firm but also for the Canary Islands’ emergency management capabilities. “Telespazio is, within the space sector, a space services company. We use space technology to provide services to users in the sector,” he explained. “We realised that for forest fires, we have tools that help plan and manage them, but we lack a specific type of data related to their monitoring. The Canary Constellation will allow us to have the type of data with which we can provide a better service in these cases of fires or other emergencies.”
Building a Consortium with Local Expertise
Telespazio will lead a consortium of companies to supply the necessary capabilities. “We are the ones who will provide the service, conduct ground monitoring, and run the control centre. But we have several partners,” said Fernández. These include AVS, which will work on the development of the satellite vehicle itself; several companies manufacturing the cameras, including the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), which is building the crucial Drago camera for the mission; and firms assisting with systems integration engineering.
Launch Timeline: A Precursor in 2027
There has been some confusion about the launch schedule. While the three main satellites of the Constellation are set for 2028, a precursor satellite will be launched next year to test the IAC’s Drago 3 camera from space. “It’s simpler, yes. It’s basically the minimum needed for the camera to fly, take images, and send them to Earth. It’s a simpler demonstrator,” Fernández clarified. This precursor is scheduled for launch in mid-2027, during the second quarter. The three definitive satellites will be launched between the second and third quarters of 2028.
Creating Jobs and Retaining Talent in the Canaries
The project has a strong local footprint. “We already have an office in Tenerife and also one in Fuerteventura. AVS is the same, as it has had an office in Tenerife for eight years,” noted Fernández. The IAC, which provides the camera, is also based on the islands. “We are going to use infrastructure, facilities, and personnel basically from the Canary Islands, in Tenerife, although we will also have complementary teams working from other parts of Spain. But a very large part of the project, the integration, and many of the tests will take place in the Canaries.”
The project is starting now with a smaller team for the initial design and planning phase. “The volume of local people and work in Tenerife will increase when we start with integration, testing, assembly, and so on, in the second half of 2027 and the first half of 2028,” Fernández stated. He spoke of the creation of dozens of direct and indirect jobs, adding, “The idea is to have a significant Canarian team and also use the talent of the Islands, so they don’t have to leave.”
Strategic Vision and Cost-Effectiveness
This project aligns with Telespazio’s strategic vision to become a leader in emergency geoinformation services within a decade. “The Canary Islands have a very interesting aerospace plan and that strategic vision, along with budget availability, fits with our strategy,” Fernández said. He also highlighted the project’s cost-effectiveness, using the devastating Tenerife wildfire as an example: “That terrible, monstrous fire cost €180 million between firefighting and subsequent disaster management. This project is €20 million, so just by preventing one fire, this constellation is more than paid for.”
Technical Specifications and Environmental Design
The constellation will consist of three satellites, each weighing around 80 kilograms and carrying between eight and ten cameras. “This has many advantages, but a fundamental one is that it allows us to take the image and download it to Earth very quickly and with great agility so that it can be available very rapidly in an emergency,” Fernández explained. The satellites are designed to be environmentally conscious: “They are small enough and have a geometry that will not generate reflections or any type of nocturnal light pollution.”
These satellites will have a minimum operational life of three years, extendable to five. At the end of their life, as they will be in low Earth orbit, simply leaving them without manoeuvring will be sufficient for them to re-enter the atmosphere after a few decades. “In this case, we have also added a device called a CAT (Capture and Attach Technology) that allows another space vehicle to approach, grab it, and force it to re-enter sooner,” Fernández concluded.
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