Satellites boosting hub in Florida
EarthNow startup to build network for ‘real time’ monitoring
MERRITT ISLAND An emerging manufacturing hub for satellites and rockets near Kennedy Space Center is already getting a boost from a new player called EarthNow that is planning to build many more satellites there.
A startup based in Seattle, EarthNow says it will use OneWeb’s new plant on Merritt Island to build a network of several hundred camera satellites to monitor the Earth “in real time.”
OneWeb, which has yet to start production at the plant, plans to build at least 900 satellites for its space-based global communication network.
To imagine EarthNow, picture Google maps or similar satellite photos — but with the ability to see what the world looks like live and potentially check on whether strange vehicles are parked on your property or whether any forest fires are breaking out nearby.
The venture is backed by some of the same people backing OneWeb, including Airbus, SoftBank and entrepreneur Greg Wyler — with the significant addition of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The announcement that such a well-funded company will manufacture in Florida is a big win for the Space Coast, officials said.
“Anyone that is manufacturing satellites or components here, they’re only going to see expansion,” said Mark Sutton, production manager at RUAG Space in Titusville, which supplies components for satellites. “There are lots of opportunities. EarthNow will be a huge boost, helping to supply critical mass and grow the support network for the space industry.”
OneWeb says it has perfected a process to build small satellites rapidly. Its satellites will be the size of a small apartment-size refrigerator. In the past many communication satellites have been closer in size to a school bus.
EarthNow’s network would be aimed at detecting emergencies, disasters or environmental crises around the globe as they occur.
“We want to connect you visually with Earth in real time,” said Russell Hannigan, EarthNow CEO. “We believe the ability to see and understand the Earth live and unfiltered will help all of us better appreciate and ultimately care for our one and only home.”
Initially, EarthNow will offer commercial video and “intelligent vision services” to a range of governments and other customers. Applications could include catching illegal fishing in action, watching hurricanes and typhoons as they evolve, detecting forest fires the moment they start, watching volcanoes the instant they start to erupt, assisting news media in telling stories from around the world, tracking large whales as they migrate, providing