As reported on mission pagethe satellite design was the responsibility of an industrial and scientific consortium consisting of Creotech, Scanway, and the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The EagleEye mission operator is also Exolaunch GmbH, a partner serving SpaceX, which belongs to Elon Musk. Polish the satellite will be launched into Earth's orbit via Rockets Falcon9.
Groundbreaking Polish project EagleEye launches into space
Thanks to the EagleEye mission, Poland can join the group of countries with the ability to create advanced space systems for national needs, for the European Space Agency and for clients from all over the world. Interestingly, the authors of the project emphasized that so far only eight European entities have managed to build and test in space a satellite weighing at least 50 kg. EagleEye is to weigh about 55 kg and measure, after unfolding the solar panels, 55 cm x 150 cm x 90 cm.
“Designing and building a satellite of this size in Poland required unique skills and experience. We are managing a mission that is of great importance for the entire domestic space sector. We are opening the door for domestic entities to the rapidly growing and profitable market of designing, building, integrating and launching small satellites into Earth orbit. It is a great honor and at the same time a responsibility,” said Marcin Mazur, EagleEye project manager.
EagleEye satellite creators share mission goal
EagleEye is to be able to descend to a very low orbit (VLEO – Very Low Earth Orbit), where at an altitude of about 350 km it will provide better quality imaging of the Earth. “The EagleEye satellite was built by Creotech Instruments on the universal HyperSat satellite platform, which is already a key element of a number of civil and defense projects at the national and European level. The modular nature of the platform can be used in various missions, including to the Moon,” the mission's website states.