Ibadan, 25 October, 2022. – Myriota, a low-power satellite connectivity for the Internet of Things (IoT) company, has announced an agreement with ISILAUNCH to send Kanyini into orbit, kickstarting its ambitious mission to help care for people and the planet. Under the Launch Services Agreement, Myriota has booked a spot for South Australia’s home-grown satellite to launch on a SpaceX Transporter mission in 2023.
Myriota, Inovor Technologies, the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre, and the South Australian Government are all collaborating to design and build Kanyini. “Kanyini” is a Pitjantjatjara term describing the “principle of responsibility and unconditional love for all creation.” In this spirit, the spacecraft will help care for Australians and the environment by improving bushfire preparedness, response, and resilience and monitoring inland and coastal water quality.
Dr. David Haley, co-founder and CTO of Myriota, said, “This is an exciting next step for this ground-breaking South Australian space services mission which will benefit the State when it launches next year. The IoT payload will add to the Myriota Network, communicating with devices and sensors on the Earth’s surface, working together with hyperspectral imaging collected from the earth observation payload to enable a wide array of applications.
Kanyini will provide access to critical data anywhere and everywhere it can help improve and monitor water quality, crop health, and bushfire resilience.”
SmartSat CEO Professor Andy Koronios added, “Securing the launch with ISILAUNCH is another exciting step for the Kanyini mission. It will pioneer sovereign technology in projects such as OzFuel, gathering real-time data, monitoring potentially hazardous conditions specific to Australia’s eucalypt-dominant bushland, and improving our bushfire preparedness, response, and resilience.”
Likewise, South Australian Deputy Premier and Minister for Defence and Space Industries Susan Close noted, “South Australia is leading the charge in accelerating innovation and growth in the space sector. This mission presents an important opportunity for local industries to
play a key role in furthering our national endeavors to build sovereign EO capability, provide secure access to data from space, and expand our satellite design and manufacturing expertise.” She said, “Soon, we will be the first State Government to send a locally manufactured small
satellite to low Earth orbit. We’re excited to partner with ISILAUNCH to secure a launch date for Kanyini on SpaceX in 2023.”
In addition, ISILAUNCH director Abe Bonnema stated, “We’re grateful to have been selected by Myriota to get Kanyini in orbit to start its ambitious mission through our reliable, integrated launch services. Our team, which includes local representation in Australia for smooth and fast interaction with the customer, is looking forward to completing all the necessary launch activities to get Kanyini to space.”
