“In the past, space wasn’t seen as a viable industry, but now it turns out it is. Recently, space-related business ideas have begun to emerge that didn’t exist until now,” said Mariel Feder—Systems Engineer, Master’s in Computer Science and Information Systems, Plant Software Manager at Satellogic—during the presentation “Technology Trends: Do New Technologies Pose a Threat to Certain Industries?”
The lecture took place on Monday, April 5, 2021, as part of the course “Introduction to Digital Technology and Culture”—taught by Professor Marcel Mordezki—which is part of the Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Business at Universidad ORT Uruguay.
During the meeting, Feder discussed how technology has transformed the satellite industry, how Satellogic operates, and the impact this has had on the democratization of spatial information.
Satellites and Innovation
Satellogic, a company founded by two Argentine entrepreneurs with offices in several countries around the world and a manufacturing facility in Uruguay, is dedicated to the design, manufacture, and operation of microsatellites. It was founded in 2010 and employs more than 250 engineers, various specialists, and experts in artificial intelligence.
“We have many engineers—electronics engineers and those from other disciplines—who are working on the design and construction of each satellite. Every satellite is built with some kind of innovation incorporated into it. Since production is discrete manufacturing (not mass production), they cannot be produced in a traditional manufacturing plant designed to consistently reproduce the same thing,” the expert noted.
Feder explained that Satellogic is a flat organization. “Anyone can talk to anyone; we all share our opinions and provide feedback on an ongoing basis .”
“We are a company that uses agile methodologies. We take a modular approach to product development, which allows us to accelerate the pace of innovation for different components by enabling each component to evolve at a different pace based on its complexity.”
The democratization of information
“We are a disruptive company. Until now, Earth observation from space was only available to certain countries or major groups and organizations such as NASA or the European Space Agency. Most small countries do not have their own satellites, and even if they do, they are not used for observation,” Feder said.
Satellogic’s business is to provide this information at affordable and competitive prices, and with higher quality, to companies and governments of all sizes—not just large corporations. “It is no longer just a privileged few who can access it. This is what allows us to democratize access to spatial information.”