On Tuesday, Denmarkâs first commercial satellite is launched into space making it the first piece in a future maritime communications grid.
A Danish space odyssey begins on Tuesday when the Sternula-1 satellite is launched into space on the back of a SpaceX transporter rocket from Florida.
The satellite is the first of 60 to comprise a vast maritime communications grid.
Aalborg-based company Sternula is behind the project together with Aalborg University, DMI, Satlab, GateHouse Satcom, Innovation Fund Denmark and Space Inventor.
Sternula was founded in 2019 with the purpose of developing satellite technology to enable maritime authorities to communicate with seafarers aboard vessels on a global scale, as an at-sea safety measure.
The launch was originally scheduled for September 2021, but was postponed with lift-off now taking place from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday 15:56 CET, the company writes in a post on LinkedIn.
Sternula CEO Lars Moltesen explained in an interview with WPO dating back to July 2021 that the company has plans of going public in 2023.
According to Moltsen, such strategies are required as each satellite costs around EUR 1m, and if the company is to reach its goal, a total of 60 satellites have to be in orbit by 2028.
